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Q66 (IAS/2015) Geography › World Physical Geography › Atmospheric pressure winds Official Key

Consider the following statements : 1. The winds which blow between 30° N and 60° S latitudes throughout the year are known as westerlies. 2. The moist air masses that cause winter rains in North-Western region of India are part of westerlies. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: B
Explanation

**Statement 1 is incorrect.** Westerlies are prevailing winds that blow from the west at midlatitudes.[1] The statement claims westerlies blow between 30° N and 60° S, which is geographically impossible as it spans both hemispheres. Westerlies typically blow between approximately 30° and 60° latitude in *each* hemisphere (30°-60° N and 30°-60° S separately), not across hemispheres.

**Statement 2 is correct.** In north-western region of the subcontinent, winter precipitation is caused by the depressions that are associated with the westerly disturbances moving out from the Mediterranean Sea.[2] The western disturbances are the low pressure depressions which originate from the Mediterranean Sea and enter India after crossing Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The jet streams plays an important role in bringing the western disturbances to India.[3] These disturbances are indeed part of the westerly wind system that brings winter rainfall to northwestern India.

Therefore, only statement 2 is correct, making option B the right answer.

Sources
  1. [1] https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/wind/
  2. [2] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 4: Climate of India > 1. The Cold Weather Season > p. 18
  3. [3] Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 8: Natural Hazards and Disaster Management > Western Disturbances > p. 52
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Consider the following statements : 1. The winds which blow between 30° N and 60° S latitudes throughout the year are known as westerlie…
At a glance
Origin: Books + Current Affairs Fairness: Moderate fairness Books / CA: 5/10 · 5/10
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Statement 1 is a classic 'Coordinate Trap'—the numbers (30, 60) are correct, but the span (N to S) implies a wind blowing across the Equator, which defies physics (Trade Winds exist there). Statement 2 is a direct lift from NCERT Class XI (Indian Physical Environment). Strategy: Visualize the globe, don't just read the text.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Do westerlies refer to the prevailing winds that blow between 30° N and 60° S latitudes throughout the year?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"Westerlies are prevailing winds that blow from the west at midlatitudes."
Why this source?
  • Defines westerlies as prevailing winds that blow from the west at midlatitudes, indicating a latitude-band location rather than a single hemisphere-spanning band.
  • Implies westerlies occupy the midlatitude zones (between horse latitudes and polar easterlies), not specifically a continuous band from 30° N to 60° S.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"Horse latitudes are about 30 and 35 degrees north and south."
Why this source?
  • Gives the approximate latitude of the horse latitudes (~30–35° N and S), which serve as the equatorward boundary for midlatitude wind zones.
  • Shows westerlies lie poleward of roughly 30° (not extending as a single band from 30° N across the equator to 60° S).
Web source
Presence: 3/5
"The Falklands have a cold maritime climate with strong westerly winds."
Why this source?
  • Provides an example of strong westerly winds affecting the Falkland Islands (a Southern Hemisphere midlatitude location), supporting that westerlies occur in midlatitudes of both hemispheres.
  • Implies westerlies are characteristic of midlatitude regions (e.g., around 50°S), not a continuous 30°N–60°S band throughout the year.

Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 23: Pressure Systems and Wind System > Primary winds or Prevailing Winds or Planetary Winds > p. 318
Strength: 5/5
“• The winds blowing almost in the same direction throughout the year are called prevailing or permanent winds. These are also called invariable or planetary winds because they involve larger areas of the globe. The two most significant winds for climate and human activities are trade winds and westerly winds.”
Why relevant

Defines 'prevailing winds' as winds that blow almost in the same direction throughout the year and explicitly lists westerly winds as one of the major prevailing/planetary winds.

How to extend

A student can combine this with latitude bands for 'prevailing' cells (e.g., Ferrel cell) to judge whether westerlies should be year-round in a given latitude band.

Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 23: Pressure Systems and Wind System > Ferrel Cell > p. 317
Strength: 5/5
“• In the middle latitudes, the circulation is that of sinking cold air that comes from the poles and the rising warm air that blows from the subtropical high. At the surface, these winds are called westerlies, and the cell is known as the Ferrel cell.”
Why relevant

Links westerlies to the Ferrel cell and places them in the 'middle latitudes' (the circulation between subtropical highs and polar lows).

How to extend

Knowing Ferrel cell occupies mid-latitudes, a student can map the Ferrel cell approximate limits against 30°–60° to assess the statement's latitudinal claim.

Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 23: Pressure Systems and Wind System > The Westerlies > p. 319
Strength: 4/5
“• The westerlies are the winds blowing from the sub-tropical high-pressure belts towards the sub-polar low-pressure belts. They blow from southwest to northeast in the northern hemisphere and northwest to southeast in the southern hemisphere. They produce wet spells and variability in weather.• The westerlies are best developed between 40° and 65° S latitudes. These latitudes are often called Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties, and Shrieking Sixties – dreaded terms for sailors. The poleward boundary of the westerlies is highly fluctuating.• The westerlies of the southern hemisphere are stronger and persistent due to the vast expanse of water, while those of the northern hemisphere are irregular because of uneven relief of vast land masses.”
Why relevant

Gives a best-developed latitude range for southern hemisphere westerlies (40°–65° S) and notes the poleward boundary is highly fluctuating; contrasts stronger southern vs irregular northern westerlies.

How to extend

Using these ranges and the noted fluctuation, a student could question the uniform 30°–60° N/S band and year-round persistence implied by the statement.

Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 14: Climate > Pressure and Planetary Winds > p. 140
Strength: 5/5
“They are more variable in the northern hemisphere, but they play a valuable role in carrying warm equatorial waters and winds to western coasts of temperate lands. weather is damp and cloudy and the seas are violent and stormy. It is thus usual for seafarers to refer to the Westerlies as the Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties and Shrieking or Stormy Sixties, according to the varying degree of storminess in the latitudes in which they blow. It must be pointed out that not all the western coasts of the temperate zone receive Westerlies throughout the year. Some of them, like California, Iberia, central Chile, southern Africa and southwestern Australia, receive Westerlies only in winter.”
Why relevant

States that not all western coasts of the temperate zone receive Westerlies throughout the year, and gives examples where westerlies are seasonal.

How to extend

A student could use these examples to infer that westerlies are not uniformly year-round everywhere within a broad latitude belt, challenging the 'throughout the year' claim.

Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 27: Jet streams > Upper Tropospheric Westerlies > p. 385
Strength: 3/5
“So, at the surface the winds flow from the pole towards the equator whereas at an altitude the winds flow from the equator towards poles). The high-pressure gradient force is directed from south to north. • Anything moving from tropics towards poles deflects towards their right in the northern hemisphere and towards their left in the southern hemisphere due to the Coriolis effect. Thus, jet streams flow from west to east in both the hemispheres and hence they are called westerlies or upper-level westerlies.”
Why relevant

Explains that upper-level jet streams are 'westerlies' flowing west to east in both hemispheres, indicating a vertical/altitude component and hemispheric symmetry.

How to extend

A student might combine surface vs upper-level distinctions with latitude info to test whether the term 'westerlies' uniformly applies at surface across the stated band year-round.

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SIMILAR QUESTIONS

NDA-I · 2018 · Q27 Relevance score: 1.34

Consider the following statements : 1. The doldrums is a low pressure area around Equator where the prevailing winds are calm. 2. Chinook is a hot and dry wind that blows in winter and therefore raises the temperature in a short time. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

CAPF · 2014 · Q7 Relevance score: 1.32

Statement I : Roaring Forties are strong Westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40° and 50° Statement I : The strong East to West air currents are caused by the combination of air being displaced from the Equator towards the South Pole and the Earth’s rotation and there are few landmasses to serve as wind breaks

IAS · 2007 · Q93 Relevance score: 1.29

Consider the following statements: 1. Either of the two belts over the oceans at about 30’ to 35° N and S Latitudes is known as Horse Latitude. 2. Horse Latitudes are low pressure belts. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

NDA-I · 2018 · Q26 Relevance score: 0.76

Consider the following statements about Roaring Forties : 1. They are strong Westerly winds found in the oceans of Southern Hemisphere. 2. The strong east to west air cuirents are caused by the combination of air being displaced from the Equator towards the South Pole and the earth’s rotation and abundance of landmasses to serve as wind breaks. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?