Question

Which of the cities of India experience a continental climate of extreme summer and winter temperatures?
1. Delhi
2. Nagpur
3. Kolkata
4. Jaipur
A. (1), (2), (4) only
B. (1), (2), (3) only
C. (1), (3), (4) only
D. (1), (2) only

Answer 1

Hint: The temperature range of a place depends on its distance from an ocean or a sea. The temperature of a water body does not change very easily and requires a very large amount of energy transfer for it to happen, as compared to the same area on the land.

Complete Answer:Water has a very high specific heat capacity, almost five times when compared with sand (or granite). For the same amount of energy transfer, the change of temperature in 1 kg of sand is five times more than the change of temperature in 1kg of water. Because of this property, the temperature change in huge water bodies happens at a very slow rate as compared to the land, which is primarily composed of sand, silt, and rocks. The temperature of an ocean (or a sea) does not vary much because of this phenomenon, which in turn regulates the temperature above the coastal areas. During the day, the land gets heated up quickly and transfers that heat to the air above it, which then starts rising and creates a low-pressure zone over land. The air above the ocean which is still cool rushes in to fill this low pressure. A cycle gets created because of this pressure gradient and the heat gets circulated because of it. This cycle gets reversed during the night time because land cools very quickly as compared to oceans. Heat gets transferred from the ocean to the coastal land. That is why coastal cities do not have extreme temperatures.

Thus, option (A) is correct.

Note: When wind flows from sea to land, it is called Sea Breeze and when wind flows from land to sea, it is called Sea Breeze.