Correct answer: (b) 2 only
Explanation
- A
1 only
Option (a) is 1 only. Indian Ocean Dipole is the SST contrast between the tropical western Indian Ocean and the tropical eastern Indian Ocean (near Indonesia), not the eastern Pacific. The Pacific pairing describes ENSO. Statement 1 is false. This option is not the key.
- B
2 only
Statement 2 is correct: a positive IOD can offset or weaken an El Niño’s drought impact on the Indian monsoon, as in several documented years. Statement 1 misplaces the eastern pole into the Pacific. Hence 2 only is the official key.
- C
Both 1 and 2
Option (c) is both. The wrong ocean in statement 1 bars this choice. This option is not the key.
- D
Neither 1 nor 2
Option (d) is neither. IOD–El Niño interaction with the monsoon is a standard forecast point, so statement 2 stands. This option is therefore wrong.
Summary. Official key is (b) 2 only. IOD is an Indian Ocean east–west SST dipole, not an Indian–Pacific pairing. El Niño often suppresses Indian monsoon rainfall; a concurrent positive IOD can partly compensate. Statement 1 confuses IOD with ENSO geography. Only statement 2 is correct.
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