With reference to the "EL-NINO", which of the following statement/s is/are correct?
(1) El-Nino involves appearance of a warm current off the coast of Peru in the eastern Pacific.
(2) This warm curren

Question

With reference to the "EL-NINO", which of the following statement/s is/are correct?
(1) El-Nino involves appearance of a warm current off the coast of Peru in the eastern Pacific.
(2) This warm current increases the temperature of water on the Peruvian coast, thereby increasing the amount of plankton in the sea.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, Only 1. Statement 1 is right: El Nino is marked by the appearance of an abnormally warm current off the coast of Peru in the eastern equatorial Pacific, displacing the usual cold Peru (Humboldt) Current. Statement 2 is wrong: that warm surface water SUPPRESSES the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water along the Peruvian coast, so plankton — and the anchovy fisheries that feed on it — DECLINE sharply. El Nino reduces plankton, it does not increase it. Since only statement 1 holds, the answer is 'Only 1'.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) This reverses the truth: statement 2 (that El Nino increases plankton) is precisely the FALSE one, while statement 1 is correct.  (b) Statement 2 is false — El Nino cuts off cold-water upwelling and reduces plankton — so both statements cannot be correct.  (d) Statement 1 is a correct textbook description of El Nino (a warm current off Peru), so 'neither' is wrong.

Concept: El Nino is the warm phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Normally, strong Pacific trade winds pile warm water in the west while cold, nutrient-rich water upwells off Peru, feeding vast plankton and anchovy stocks. During El Nino the trade winds weaken, warm water spreads east to the South American coast, upwelling is choked off, plankton and fisheries collapse, and global weather is disrupted — including a weaker Indian south-west monsoon.

State PCS 2023 Q32 — Geography PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q32 — Geography PYQ with Answer