Global climate change pundits have for long been blowing heat and cold over…
2024
Global climate change pundits have for long been blowing heat and cold over melting ice caps, rising ocean levels and unusually hot summers on the one hand and receding deserts, shrinking biodiversity and colder winters on the other. Climatologists are, however, unanimous in their opinion that regional variation notwithstanding, the earth as a whole is becoming warmer - and largely due to increased human activity. And yet, as a continent Antarctica would seem to be bucking the trend. Recent reports quoting American scientists from the south pote say that while temperatures in every other continent have risen over the past century, Antarctica has become appreciably colder over the past 35 years and continues to cool, becoming the only one of Earth's seven continents to react differently to global warming. The world's average temperature over the last 100 years has risen by 0.06c a decade and the average actually went up to 0.19c between 1979 and 1998. In the Antarctic, on the other hand, temperatures fell on an average by 0.7c a decade. Traditional theories of climate change have held that the effects of global warming ought to be magnified at the poles.
Nonetheless, recent research points out that while the Arctic is indeed getting warmer, the Antarctic is definitely getting cooler. This will mean that previous estimates of rising sea levels that included the melting ice caps of both the north and south poles will have to be suitably revised. So what is the mystery behind the cooling of the white continent? Since most of the inhabited and industrialized countries are clustered close to the Arctic, polluting emissions waft across to the north pole, creating a greenhouse effect, warming the air and loosening the ice sheets. The complex interplay of ocean currents appears to have changed temperatures cooling the southern ocean around the Antarctic and transforming the pole’s temperature profile. Antarctica’s harsh desert valleys are turning cooler, setting off a series of ecological consequences in the region. Meanwhile, here's another contradiction: reports from new Zealand describe how there is a surfeit of global warming-induced break-away icebergs in the southern hemisphere.
According to the passage, it can be said that
- A.
The average temperature rise for the decade 1979-1998 was more than the average rise in temperature over the last 100 years.
- B.
Antarctica has become colder than the Earth over the last 35 years
- C.
The decade growth in temperature is much higher for Antarctica than the Earth itself
- D.
Antarctica has become colder than the other continents of the world
Attempted by 3 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Answer: The statement that the average temperature rise for the decade 1979–1998 was more than the average rise over the last 100 years is correct.
Key data from the passage:
World average over the last 100 years: 0.06°C per decade.
World average between 1979 and 1998: 0.19°C per decade.
Antarctica over the past 35 years: temperatures fell by 0.7°C per decade (cooling trend).
Reasoning: 0.19°C per decade is greater than 0.06°C per decade, so the passage directly supports the claim that the decade 1979–1998 saw a larger average temperature rise than the century-long average.
Why the other candidate statements are not the best choice:
"Antarctica has become colder than the Earth over the last 35 years" — This is imprecise. The passage reports Antarctica cooled while the global average rose, but it does not make a clear absolute temperature comparison framed as 'colder than the Earth'.
"The decade growth in temperature is much higher for Antarctica than the Earth itself" — This contradicts the passage, which states Antarctica experienced cooling (−0.7°C per decade), not a higher warming rate.
"Antarctica has become colder than the other continents of the world" — The passage does indicate Antarctica is the only continent that cooled while others warmed, so the trend is supported. However, this statement is less directly tied to the clear numeric comparison that makes the selected statement the best-supported conclusion.