Daily Current Affairs Quiz: December 24, 2025

Answer: A [1 and 3 only]
Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: The troposphere is thickest over the equator (about 16–18 km) and thinnest over the poles (about 8–10 km). This is because higher insolation at the equator causes greater heating and vertical expansion of air.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Temperature inversion is not confined to polar regions. It can occur in mid-latitudes and tropical regions as well, especially during clear nights, in valleys, over snow-covered surfaces, or due to subsidence in high-pressure systems.

Statement 3 is correct: Almost all weather phenomena—such as clouds, rainfall, storms, and cyclones—take place in the troposphere because it contains most of the atmospheric moisture and experiences active vertical air movement.

Answer: B [2 only]
Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Due to Earth’s rotation, the Coriolis Force deflects moving objects to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, influencing wind systems and ocean currents.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The Coriolis Force is zero at the equator and increases with latitude, becoming maximum at the poles, not at the equator.

Answer: A [Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 are true, and Statement 2 is the correct explanation of Statement 1]
Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: During an El Niño event, the normal east–west atmospheric circulation over the equatorial Pacific, known as the Walker Circulation, becomes weaker. This leads to a reduction in convective activity and rainfall over the western Pacific region, including Indonesia and northern Australia.

Statement 2 is correct: El Niño is marked by abnormal warming of sea surface temperatures in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean. This warming alters the normal temperature and pressure distribution across the Pacific basin.

Statement 2 is the correct explanation of Statement 1: The warming of the eastern and central Pacific reduces the east–west pressure gradient that normally drives strong trade winds. As the trade winds weaken, the Walker Circulation loses strength, resulting in a shift of convection towards the central and eastern Pacific and suppressed convection over the western Pacific.

Answer: C [Both 1 and 2]
Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Köppen’s climate classification system is primarily based on temperature and precipitation patterns, along with their seasonal distribution. It was designed to correlate climate types with natural vegetation, making it widely used for global climatic studies.

Statement 2 is correct: Thornthwaite’s climate classification places emphasis on evapotranspiration, particularly potential evapotranspiration (PET), to assess moisture availability. It focuses on the water balance of a region, making it more suitable for agricultural and hydrological analyses.

Answer: D [1, 2 and 3]
Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Jet streams are narrow, elongated bands of very high-speed winds found in the upper troposphere, generally near the tropopause, where temperature and pressure gradients are strong.

Statement 2 is correct: Jet streams generally flow from west to east due to Earth’s rotation and the influence of the Coriolis force, which deflects moving air to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

Statement 3 is correct: Jet streams play a significant role in shaping weather systems such as cyclones and anticyclones. Over India, the Subtropical Westerly Jet affects winter weather, while the Tropical Easterly Jet is closely linked with the onset and strength of the Indian monsoon.