INSIGHT UPSC QUIZ

ANSWER: (D)

Statement 1 is correct.

Savanna type of climate is located between 5°-20° latitudes on either side of the equator. Thus, savanna climate is located between equatorial type of climate (Af) and semi-arid and subtropical humid climate. 

The Savanna climate is characterized by distinct wet and dry seasons, mean high temperature throughout the year (ranging between 24°C and 27°C), and abundant insolation. Temperature does not fall below 20°C in any month of the year. 

Statement 2 is correct.

Plants found in savannas are specialized to handle long periods of drought. Savanna plants have extra-long roots capable of reaching the water table deep beneath the soil. The plants are also covered in thick bark, so they can resist the yearly fires that happen during the dry season. The trunks of the plants can store a large amount of water, and savanna plants drop their leaves during the winter to conserve energy.

Statement 3 is correct. 

Soil types in savannas include both edaphic and bedrock types. Soil in savannas is usually formed by laterization (a type of chemical weathering that produces a large variety of soil makeup), and low fertility Oxisols (an order of soil) are prominent in the region.

Statement 4 is correct.

The prevailing winds of the region are the Trade Winds, which bring rain to the coastal districts. They are strongest in the summer (favourable position of ITCZ) but are relatively dry by the time they reach the continental interiors or the western coasts (Trade winds are easterlies – flow from east to west. So, rainfall decreases from east to west here). In West Africa, the North-East Trades, in fact, blow off-shore (continent to sea) from the Sahara Desert and reach the Guinea coast as a dry, dust-laden winds.