DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ – 19 November 2024

Ans. a

Explanation:

Characteristics of Hot Deserts:

1. Global Distribution and Positioning

• Desert Coverage: Deserts encompass over one-fifth of the Earth’s landmass, spanning every continent.
• Hot Desert Locations: Hot deserts primarily reside around the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, typically between 15° and 30° north or south of the equator.
• Association with Atmospheric Conditions: These deserts align with the Horse Latitudes or Sub-Tropical High-Pressure Belts, where descending air impedes precipitation.

2. Influence of Air Movement and Relative Humidity

• Wind Patterns: Rain-bearing Trade Winds diverge away from deserts, while the on-shore Westerlies stay outside desert limits. The arriving winds, cooler and with reduced humidity, discourage condensation.
• Minimal Cloud and Low Humidity: The skies over deserts remain predominantly clear, with relative humidity plummeting from 60% in coastal regions to less than 30% in desert interiors. This arid environment facilitates constant evaporation, establishing a perpetual state of drought.

3. Rare Precipitation and Local Effects

• Scarce Rainfall: Desert regions experience unreliable and minimal precipitation.
• Effect of Cold Currents: Cold currents along western coasts generate mists and fogs, but as they interact with the warm land, little rainfall occurs. Notably, the Atacama or Peruvian Desert epitomizes extreme aridity with an annual rainfall of fewer than 1.3 cm.

4. Reasons for Tropics Association

• Hadley Cell Explanation: Deserts align with the Tropics due to the Hadley Cell’s atmospheric process, where ascending warm air at the equator leads to heavy rainfall, followed by descending, dry air with elevated temperatures in the tropics.

5. Examples of Major Hot Deserts

• Desert Examples: Notable hot deserts include the expansive Sahara Desert stretching 3,200 miles east to west and approximately 1,000 miles wide. Other significant hot deserts encompass the Great Australian Desert, Arabian Desert, Iranian Desert, Thar Desert, Kalahari Desert, Namib Desert, and various deserts in North and South America, each with unique characteristics and names based on their geographical regions.

Ans. d

Explanation:

Distinctions Between Fogs and Mists:

1. Clarification on Fogs and Mists Moisture Content

• Statement 1 (Incorrect): Contrary to the statement, fogs are not drier than mists. Both fogs and mists, which are ground-level clouds, form when water condenses around particles in a substantial mass of air close to the Earth’s surface. However, mist typically contains higher moisture content. This occurs because each nucleus in mist retains a thicker layer of moisture around it compared to fog.

2. Formation and Circumstances

• Statement 2 (Incorrect): Fogs primarily occur when warm air currents intersect with colder currents. In contrast, mists usually form in mountainous areas where ascending warm air encounters a cold surface.

Ans. a

Explanation:

Atmospheric Layers and Characteristics:

1. Troposphere – Dominant Atmospheric Layer

• Description: Closest layer to the planet, comprising approximately 80% of the total atmospheric mass.
• Temperature and Water Vapor: Temperature and water vapor content decrease swiftly with altitude.
• Water Vapor Concentration: Contains 99% of the atmospheric water vapor, varying across latitudes. Concentration peaks in tropical regions (up to 3%) and diminishes towards the poles.

2. Mesosphere – Cooling Layer with Coldest Temperatures

• Location: Extends from around 30 to 50 miles (50 to 85 km) above the Earth’s surface.
• Temperature Variation: Features decreasing temperatures; the mesopause, its upper boundary, hosts the coldest temperatures in Earth’s atmosphere, especially evident in summer near the pole.

3. Exosphere – Outermost Atmospheric Region

• Position: Situated as the furthest atmospheric region from Earth’s surface.
• Escape Probability: Molecules in the exosphere may escape into space if moving fast enough or be drawn back to Earth by gravity if not, with minimal chances of collision.
• Boundary and Transition: Lower boundary, known as the thermopause or exobase, fluctuates from approximately 150 to 300 miles (250-500 km) based on solar activity. Represents a transitional zone between Earth’s atmosphere and interplanetary space.

Answer: (A)

Explanation: Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978 is also called as The Jammu And Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978. The act extents only to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a preventive detention law where a person can be held under preventive detention up to two years. It is very similar to the National Security Act that is used by other state governments for preventive detention. A person can be detained for the following reasons:
– Threat to the maintenance of the public order to the state.
– Smuggling or abetting the smuggling of liquor.
– Engaging in transporting or concealing or keeping smuggled liquor.
When a person is detained under the PSA, the District Magistrate or Divisional Commissioners communicates the reason for the detention in writing, within 5 days. In exceptional circumstances, the DM can take 10 days to communicate these grounds. Article 22(a) of the Constitution states that no person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Ans. b

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect. While the Himalayan brown bear is the largest mammal found in Kashmir, but It is considerably smaller than the Grizzly and the Kodiak bears.
• Statement 2 is correct. The passage specifies the distribution of the Himalayan brown bear across regions in northern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, northern India, western China, and Nepal.