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?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

UPSC Civil Services Exam (Prelims) GS Paper-I (Held On: 23 Aug, 2015)

Answer 1

The correct answer is 2 only.

Key Points

Westerlies are permanent winds.
Westerlies are prevailing winds that flow from the west towards the East.
It flows between 30°N-60°N and 30°S-60°S degrees latitude. Hence statement 1 is NOT correct.
It is also known as anti trades winds as it originates from the high-pressure area Horse latitude and flows towards the subpolar low-pressure area.
The blows from South West to North East in the Northern hemisphere and from North west to the south east in the southern hemisphere.
The westerlies are stronger in the Southern hemisphere due to the vast ocean and comparatively less land.
They are best observed between 40 to 60-degree latitude and these latitudes are also known as Roaring forties, Furious fifties, and shrieking sixties.
There are fluctuations in the subpolar region. Thus, they produce wet spells due to variation in weather.

Important Points

The moist air masses that cause winter rains in the North-Western region of India part of Western disturbances that originate from the Mediterranean sea. Hence statement 2 is correct.