Consider the following statements:
- Statement-I: The temperature contrast between continents and oceans is greater during summer than in winter.
- Statement-II: The specific heat of water is more than that of land surface.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct
The land-ocean temperature contrast is sharper in winter than in summer, so Statement-I is wrong. Statement-II is right: water has a higher specific heat than land and therefore heats up and cools down slowly.
- ✗ Statement-I In January the isotherms bend north over the warm oceans and south over the cold continents, and the departure from the latitudinal pattern is stronger in January than in July. The contrast is therefore greater in winter.
- ✓ Statement-II Water needs more heat than land to rise by one degree, so it heats up and cools down more slowly than the landmass. This is why continents swing more in temperature than oceans.
Remember · Higher specific heat makes water heat and cool slowly, so continents swing more. The land-ocean contrast is sharpest in northern winter (January), when isotherms bend most.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Ch 8 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Chapter 8 “The deviation from this general trend is more pronounced in January than in July, especially in the northern hemisphere.”
- NCERT Class 11 · India: Physical Environment, Chapter 4 “As compared to the landmass, water heats up or cools down slowly.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·