Daily MCQs: UPSC Prelims marathon: April 28

Asteroids, also called as minor planets or planetoids, are rocky remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. They are found orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt.
Comets are cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock and dust. When a comet’s come close to the sun, it heats up and throws dust and gases into a giant glowing head. The dust and gases form a tail that stretches away for millions of kilometers.
Thus statement 2 is wrong and 1 and 3 are right. Therefore ans is option b.

Tropical marine climate is experienced along the eastern coasts of the tropical lands, receiving steady rainfall from the trade winds all the time. Rainfall is both orographic and convectional due to intense heating.
Tropical monsoon climate witness onshore wet monsoons in summer and off shore dry seasons in winter. They are best developed in Indian subcontinent, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, parts of Vietnam and south China and Australia.
Mid latitude desert climate is similar to those of hot deserts. They are cut off from the rain bearing winds as they are located hundreds of miles from sea and are sheltered by high mountains. Summers are very hot and winters are very cold. Winters are severe freezing lakes and rivers and strong cold winds blow all the time.
Cool temperate eastern margin climate or Laurentian climate features both maritime and continental climates. It is cold, dry. Winters are cold and dry and summers are warm and wet. Rain fall throughout the years

Statement 1 is correct. Majority of the world deserts are found along the Tropic of Cancer, between 15 and 30 degrees north of the Equator, or along the Tropic of Capricorn, between 15 and 30 degrees south of the Equator.
Statement 2 is also correct. These desert lie in the trade wind belt on the western parts of the continents. Here trade winds are off-shore and they are influenced by cold currents which produce a ‘desiccating effect’. This causes very less rain.

It is the largest protected area in the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot and is located in Arunachal Pradesh. It is also the third largest national park in India in terms of area.