Global climate change pundits have for long been blowing heat and cold over…
2023
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, all of the following are not true except:
- A.
Effect of global warming on Antarctica is on unexpected lines
- B.
Fall in temperature in the Antarctic is in accordance with the traditional theories
- C.
Effect of global warming is the maximum at the Poles
- D.
Traditional theories failed to calculate the effects of global warming
Attempted by 4 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Answer: Effect of global warming on Antarctica is on unexpected lines
Key evidence from the passage:
The passage states that, overall, the Earth is becoming warmer largely due to human activity.
It then reports that Antarctica has become appreciably colder over the past 35 years and continues to cool, making it the only continent behaving differently.
Numeric contrast given: the world’s average temperature rose by about 0.06°C per decade (and 0.19°C between 1979 and 1998), whereas Antarctic temperatures fell by about 0.7°C per decade.
Reasoning:
Because the global trend is warming but Antarctica is cooling, the effect of global warming on Antarctica is unexpected relative to the general pattern.
The passage also offers possible explanations (pollutant distribution favoring the Arctic, changes in ocean currents) showing regional complexity rather than full agreement with traditional expectations.
Why the other statements are not correct:
The claim that the fall in Antarctic temperature is in accordance with traditional theories is wrong because traditional theories predicted amplified warming at the poles, not cooling.
The statement that the effect of global warming is maximum at the poles is not supported by the passage for Antarctica, which is cooling rather than warming as expected.
The idea that traditional theories failed completely overstates the passage’s point. The passage points to regional variation and complex causes (pollutant distribution, ocean currents), not an absolute failure of theory.
Conclusion: The passage presents Antarctica’s cooling as an unexpected regional exception to the overall global warming trend, which makes the statement that the effect on Antarctica is unexpected the correct choice.