What could be the main reasons for the formation of African and Eurasian desert belt? 1) It is located in the sub-tropical high pressure cells. 2) It is under the influence of warm ocean currents. Which of the statements given above is/are correct in this context?

Statement 1 is correct. The Sahara and the Arabian-Iranian-Thar belt lie roughly between 15 and 30 degrees North, where the descending limb of the Hadley cell creates the subtropical high pressure zone. Air sinks, warms by compression, and suppresses cloud formation and rain. That subsidence is the core dynamic behind the belt.

Statement 2 is wrong. The western margins of these deserts are washed by cold currents, not warm ones. The Canary Current runs along the northwest African coast, and the Benguela Current does the same for the Namib in southwest Africa. Cold water cools the air above it, making it stable and reducing evaporation and onshore rain. This adds to aridity, the opposite of what statement 2 suggests.

• Continentality, distance from moisture sources, and rain shadow effects (Atlas, Iranian plateau, Himalayas for the Thar) add to the dryness.

This links to the Geography syllabus on world climate and to Mains questions on desertification and the expanding Thar in India.

Trap: Students see ocean currents and assume warm currents moderate the climate, so they pick statement 2 as true. Remember that cold currents make west coast deserts drier.