9 questions on this topic, recalled by candidates after DGCA sittings between 2021 and 2026. Together they were asked 23 times; the most repeated come first. Pick a year to see only what was asked that year.
B. Katabatic
At night the slope cools and chills the air on it; that denser air drains downhill - katabatic. By day the heated slope sends air uphill - anabatic.
B. From land to sea by night
At night the land cools faster than the sea, pressure becomes higher over the land, and air flows out to sea - the land breeze.
B. Day / Night
The land heats up faster than the sea by day, so cooler sea air moves in during the late morning and afternoon. It dies away in the evening as the land cools.
A. The land becomes warmer than the sea by day, with a light gradient wind
A sea breeze needs strong daytime heating of the land and a weak general wind that does not swamp the local circulation - clear, calm, sunny days.
B. Ahead of the cold front
A line squall is a band of thunderstorms that often runs ahead of an active cold front - sometimes 100-300 km ahead - with sudden strong gusts and a sharp veer.
C. A warm, dry westerly wind on the leeward (eastern) side of the Rocky Mountains
The Chinook is the Rocky Mountains' Föhn: air that has dropped its moisture on the windward side descends the lee slopes and warms at the dry adiabatic rate, arriving warm and dry.
B. The land breeze is weaker than the sea breeze and occurs at night
The daytime land-sea temperature difference is larger than the night-time one, so the sea breeze (day) is stronger than the land breeze (night).
B. Cold front
The pre-frontal squall line runs parallel to, and ahead of, a fast-moving cold front. It can be more violent than the front itself.
C. During the day
An anabatic wind is warm air flowing up a slope heated by the sun, so it blows by day. Its night-time opposite, flowing down the slope, is the katabatic wind.
These are candidates' recollections, not official DGCA papers: wording can differ from the paper as set. Every answer was checked against the DGCA CARs, AIP India, ICAO documents or worked calculation (independent check completed 17 Oct 2026). Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will check it against the source.