DGCA Aviation Meteorology question paper, June 2026

Question 1

Travelling from the equator to either pole, what happens to tropopause height?

Accepted Answer

About 16 to 18 km at the equator, falling to about 8 km at the poles

Answer

About 11 km everywhere on the globe

Answer

Changing with season but never with latitude

Answer

Lowest at the equator, rising towards the poles

Question 2

A cold front passes over a parked aircraft whose subscale setting is left unchanged. What does the altimeter reading do?

Accepted Answer

It climbs as pressure falls ahead of the front, then drops as pressure rises behind it

Answer

It drops steadily as colder, denser air arrives

Answer

It stays put since the aircraft is not flying

Answer

It climbs steadily through the passage and then holds

Question 3

Most clouds need rising air, but one form is produced by pockets of sinking air. Which one?

Accepted Answer

Mammatus

Answer

Cumulus congestus

Answer

Cirrus

Answer

Pileus

Question 4

Flying through a stable air mass, what should a pilot expect?

Accepted Answer

Layer cloud, smooth air, steady rain or drizzle, hazy poor visibility

Answer

Heaped cloud, bumpy air, heavy showers, clear visibility

Answer

Cloudless sky, strong gusts and very good visibility

Answer

Towering cloud, thunderstorms and icing in cumulonimbus

Question 5

The temperature of the surrounding air cools with height more quickly than the DALR of about 3°C per 1000 ft. How is this atmosphere described?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely unstable: any parcel given a push upward keeps rising on its own

Answer

Absolutely stable: every lifted parcel is colder than its surroundings and sinks back

Answer

Conditionally unstable: the outcome depends on whether the parcel is saturated

Answer

Neutral: lifted parcels neither rise further nor sink back

20 more questions in this paper, free with an account.