Statement I: The amount of dust particles in the atmosphere is more in subtropical and temperate areas than in equatorial and polar regions. Statement II: Subtropical and temperate areas have less dry winds. Which one of the following is correct?

Answer: (c) Statement I is correct but Statement II is not correct

Dust is higher in the subtropics and temperate belts BECAUSE they have MORE dry winds (NCERT). Statement II flips this.

The idea

Atmospheric dust depends on how easily particles are lifted and how quickly they are removed. Dry, bare ground supplies loose particles, while wind carries them into the air. Rain washes particles out, so a wet belt need not be dusty even when its air rises strongly.

Dry ground has loose particles → Wind lifts the particles → Little rain removes them → Dust remains suspended → Rain later washes particles to the surface

Why the others are wrong

(a) Accepts II because it names the right regions. It flips the cause: dust is high there because the winds are DRY.

(d) Rejects I, maybe thinking dust belongs only to the tropics. The subtropical and temperate belts hold the great deserts — and the dust.

The trap

Statement II keeps the right regions and just drops one word — “less” instead of “more”. Read the adjective, not the topic.

Also know

Dust and sea salt can act as condensation nuclei around which cloud droplets form. The Harmattan carries Saharan dust towards West Africa. Aerosols are suspended solid particles or liquid droplets; water vapour is a gas. Local dust levels also depend on soil, vegetation and human activity, so the latitude pattern is a broad comparison.