Correct answer: (a) 1 only
Explanation
- A
1 only
1 only. In January, isotherms bend north over oceans and south over continents in the northern mid-latitudes.
- B
2 only
2 only. Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift are warm, not cold; they do not make the North Atlantic colder.
- C
Both 1 and 2
Both. Statement 2 reverses warm and cold.
- D
Neither 1 nor 2
Neither. Statement 1 is the correctly keyed inference.
Summary. Official key is (a) 1 only. January isotherms in the northern hemisphere typically bulge north over oceans (water still relatively warm) and south over continents (land much colder). Statement 2 calls the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift cold currents and says they make the North Atlantic colder — both claims are wrong. Those are warm currents that pull isotherms north. So only 1 is a correct inference.
Same topic · past papers
UPSC has asked this before
These previous-year questions sit on the same topic. Open one to practise the earlier ask.
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2015 · Q5 · General Studies · 2 marks
In the South Atlantic and South-Eastern Pacific regions in tropical latitudes, cyclone does not originate. What is the reason?