Question

Which of the following cities never gets the vertical rays of the sun?
A) Shimla
B) Mumbai
C) Ahmedabad
D) Chennai

Answer 1

Hint:
- Outside of the tropics, there are no vertical rays of the sun. 90-(latitude-declination), where the declination is the sun's latitude as determined at the equator, gives the sun's maximum altitude (at true noon).
- The sun shines vertically in the tropical region while slanting rays shine in the temperate and polar regions.

Complete answer:
The Tropic of Cancer is the line that determines whether a city in India can receive vertical sun rays or not. Let’s look at the cities one by one to get the correct answer:
Shimla: This is the correct answer. Shimla is never exposed to the sun's vertical rays because it is located north of the tropic of Cancer.
Mumbai: This option is incorrect because Mumbai is close to the sea and lies between the tropics of cancer and the equator, putting it in the tropical region. As a result, it receives vertical sun rays at least once a year.
Ahmedabad: This option is incorrect because Ahmedabad experiences vertical rays of the sun twice a year because it lies between the tropics.
Chennai: This option is incorrect because Chennai lies between the Tropics and thus, it experiences the vertical rays at least once a year.

Thus, the correct answer is Option ‘A’.

Note: The tropics refer to the region of the Earth that surrounds the Equator. The Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere, at 23°26′11.5′′ N, and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere, at 23°26′11.5′′ S, delimit them in latitude; these latitudes correspond to the Earth's axial inclination.