Which one among the following statements with reference to Benguela current is NOT correct?
- (a)It influences the climate of the West coast of North Africa
- (b)It is a cold current
- (c)Its direction is from South to North
- (d)It flows in the Atlantic Ocean
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.
- (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.
Read each statement against what you know about the Benguela. Cold (b), Atlantic (d) and equatorward/south-to-north (c) all fit a South-Atlantic eastern-boundary current. Only the location — 'North Africa' — is wrong; the cold current off North/NW Africa is the Canary Current, its Northern-Hemisphere counterpart. That mismatch flags (a).
- 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.
- 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.
Asked as 'which statement about current X is NOT correct' or by matching cold/warm currents to coasts and oceans.
In the given map (currents off the west coast of Africa), which one of the following pairs of ocean currents is shown?
- (a) Benguela and Falkland
- (b) Canary and Humboldt
- (c) Agulhas and Guinea
- (d) Benguela and Guinea
Answer(d) Benguela and Guinea
A map item that identifies the cold Benguela Current (flowing northward off SW Africa) alongside the warm Guinea Current — the same Atlantic-off-Africa current the NDA question probes.
- 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.