The annual range of temperature in the interior of the continents is high as compared to coastal areas. What is / are the reason / reasons? 1. Thermal difference between land and water 2. Variation in altitude between continents and oceans 3. Presence of strong winds in the interior 4. Heavy rains in the interior as compared to coasts Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

Statement 1 is the core reason. Land heats and cools quickly because of its low specific heat and poor conduction, while water has a high specific heat and spreads heat through a deep layer. The sea therefore keeps coastal areas relatively even in temperature through the year, while the interior, cut off from this moderating effect, swings more widely. Hence the answer is A.

Why the others fail:

• Statement 2 is wrong. Altitude is not what separates continents from oceans here. Interior and coastal stations can lie at similar elevations, and the range is driven by the land-sea contrast, not by height.
• Statement 3 is wrong. Winds in the interior are generally weaker and provide less moderation. Coastal areas get sea breezes and onshore winds that carry marine air inland and reduce the range.
• Statement 4 is wrong. Interior regions receive less rainfall than coasts, not more. Cloud cover and rain damp both daytime heating and night-time cooling, so their absence adds to the range.

This is the concept of continentality, covered in Class XI climatology and useful for Mains questions on Indian climate, where Ladakh shows a far larger annual range than Mumbai.

Trap: Aspirants often pick D because all four statements sound like plausible features of continents. Test each one against the actual mechanism: heat capacity, rainfall, wind moderation and altitude.