By signing in you confirm you are 18 or older, or have your parent’s or guardian’s consent.

UPSC Prelims 2025 GS Paper 1, question 26

Topic: World and physical geography

Q26

Consider the following statements :

Statement-I : The amount of dust particles in the atmosphere is more in subtropical and temperate areas than in equatorial and polar regions.

Statement-II : Subtropical and temperate areas have less dry winds.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. (a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  2. (b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  3. (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is not correctCorrect answer
  4. (d) Statement-I is not correct but Statement-II is correct

Solution.

Answer: (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is not correct

  1. Statement-I is correct: as stated in NCERT's Fundamentals of Physical Geography, the concentration of atmospheric dust particles is higher in subtropical and temperate regions than in equatorial and polar regions.
  2. Statement-II is incorrect: subtropical and temperate regions have higher dust concentrations precisely because of dry and windy conditions (as opposed to heavy rainwash in equatorial belts and snow cover in polar regions), not because they have 'less dry winds'.