The driest areas of India, which lie in the western parts of Rajasthan, have an average annual rainfall of approximately how many centimetres?

Introduction / Context:
Western Rajasthan includes parts of the Thar Desert and is known as one of the driest regions in India. Understanding typical rainfall amounts in such extreme climatic zones helps students appreciate the diversity of India's climate, from heavy rainfall in the north east to arid conditions in the west.

Given Data / Assumptions:
• The question focuses on the driest areas of India located in Rajasthan. • It asks for the approximate average annual rainfall in these areas, expressed in centimetres. • Options range from less than 1 cm up to 10 cm and a broad interval between 1 cm and 10 cm.

Concept / Approach:
Climatological data show that the extremely dry parts of western Rajasthan, including areas around Jaisalmer, receive very low rainfall, typically in the range of about 8 to 10 centimetres per year on average. While year to year variability can be large, standard geography references round this off to about 10 cm to characterise the region. Therefore, among the options, 10 cm is the most appropriate approximate figure.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that most of the Thar Desert receives less than 25 cm of rainfall annually, and the driest pockets receive even less. Step 2: Note that for the absolute driest zones in western Rajasthan, many textbooks mention average rainfall figures close to 10 cm. Step 3: Compare the options and select the figure that best matches this approximate value, which is 10 cm. Step 4: Reject extremely low values such as 1 cm or less, as they are not realistic for average annual rainfall over a large region in India.

Verification / Alternative check:
Climatological summaries in Indian geography texts describe the driest zones of western Rajasthan as having annual rainfall in the neighbourhood of 10 centimetres, with some local variability. None of the authoritative sources claim that large inhabited areas in India have average rainfall as low as 1 cm or less than 1 cm per year, which would be closer to the hyper arid Sahara conditions.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B (1 cm) is far too low for an average and does not match observed rainfall records in Rajasthan. Option C (Between 1 cm and 10 cm) suggests a central tendency much lower than the commonly cited 8 to 10 cm figure and is therefore misleading as an average. Option D (Less than 1 cm) would describe extreme hyper arid desert, which is not the situation in even the driest parts of India.

Common Pitfalls:
• Some learners see the word driest and impulsively choose the smallest possible number without considering realistic climatic data. • Others may remember that the region receives less than 25 cm but fail to recall the more specific approximate figure of around 10 cm used in textbooks.

Final Answer:
The driest areas of western Rajasthan receive an average annual rainfall of about 10 cm.