Which one among the following statements with reference to Benguela current is NOT correct?

Correct — A, 'It influences the climate of the West coast of North Africa.' The Benguela Current flows along the West coast of SOUTHERN Africa (off Namibia and South Africa), not North Africa — the cold current off NW/North Africa is the Canary Current. So this statement is the one that is NOT correct. The other three statements are all true of the Benguela Current.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  It is a cold current — This is TRUE of the Benguela Current — it is a cold eastern-boundary current with strong coastal upwelling (which sustains the Namib Desert and rich fisheries), so it is not the incorrect statement.
• (c)
  Its direction is from South to North — This is TRUE — the Benguela flows equatorward (northward) up the west coast of Southern Africa as the eastern limb of the South Atlantic subtropical gyre.
• (d)
  It flows in the Atlantic Ocean — This is TRUE — the Benguela is a current of the South Atlantic Ocean, so it is a correct statement and not the answer.

Ocean-gyre currents follow a rule: on the EASTERN boundary of an ocean (the western coast of the continent) the current is COLD and flows towards the equator; on the WESTERN boundary it is warm and flows poleward. The Benguela is the cold eastern-boundary current of the South Atlantic gyre, hugging SW Africa.

Key facts

• Benguela Current — cold, eastern-boundary current of the South Atlantic; flows northward (equatorward) off Namibia and South Africa.
• Its coastal upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water creates the arid Namib Desert and one of the world's richest fishing grounds.
• Its Northern-Hemisphere analogue off NW/North Africa is the cold Canary Current.
• Warm currents of the Atlantic gyres (Gulf Stream, Brazil Current) flow along the eastern coasts of continents, not the western.

Common traps

• Confusing the Benguela (Southern Africa) with the Canary Current (North/NW Africa) — both are cold Atlantic eastern-boundary currents.
• Thinking 'south to north' must mean a warm current — cold currents can flow equatorward too.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The cold ocean current responsible for the aridity of the Namib Desert is the:

  • (a)Canary Current
  • (b)Benguela Current
  • (c)Agulhas Current
  • (d)Guinea Current
  Answer(b) Benguela Current — its cold upwelling off SW Africa produces the Namib Desert.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following is a WARM ocean current?

  • (a)Benguela
  • (b)Humboldt
  • (c)Brazil
  • (d)Canary
  Answer(c) Brazil Current — a warm western-boundary current; the other three are cold.