Consider the following statements about clouds: 1. Two major forms of clouds are stratiform and cumuliform. 2. According to the altitude, clouds are classified as high clouds, middle clouds, and low clouds. 3. Stratus, nimbostratus and stratocumulus are types of high clouds. 4. Clouds having nimbo attached to their name produce precipitation. Which of the statements given above are correct?

Statement 1 is correct as clouds are broadly categorized into stratiform (layered) and cumuliform (heaped) based on their physical appearance and formation process. Statement 2 is correct; clouds are classified by altitude into high, middle, and low families [2]. Statement 3 is incorrect because stratus, nimbostratus, and stratocumulus are classified as low clouds, whereas high clouds include cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus [2]. Statement 4 is correct as the prefix 'nimbo' or suffix 'nimbus' specifically denotes clouds that produce precipitation, such as nimbostratus and cumulonimbus. While nimbostratus is sometimes grouped with middle clouds due to its vertical thickness, it is traditionally listed as a low cloud in standard NCAR/UPSC frameworks [2]. Thus, statements 1, 2, and 4 are accurate.

Sources

1. [1] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 24: Hydrological Cycle (Water Cycle) > Types of Clouds > p. 335
2. [2] FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Geography Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 10: Water in the Atmosphere > Nimbus > p. 88