1. According to a new study, a vast blanket of pollution stretching across South Asia is cutting down sunlight by 10 per cent over India, damaging agriculture, modifying rainfall patterns and putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk.
2. It is said that the haze, which can cause problems such as acid rain, has the potential to damage crops and trees. Ash falling on leaves can aggravate the impact of reduced sunlight on the Earth's surface. The pollution that is forming the haze could be leading to several hundreds of thousands of premature deaths as a result of higher levels of respiratory diseases.
3. The haze has cut down sunlight over India by 10 per cent (so far) — a huge amount! As a repercussion, the North-West of India is drying up. Prof. V. Ramanathan said when asked specifically about the impact of the haze over India. He said it was too early to reach a conclusion but that the effects were beginning to be understood.
4. Prof. V. Ramanathan was asked whether the current droughts in most parts of India after over a decade of good monsoons was owing to the haze. He said that it was too early to reach a conclusion. If the droughts persist for about four to five years, then we would start suspecting that it may be because of the haze. India, China and Indonesia are the worst affected owing to their population density, economic growth and depleting forest cover.
Read the following passage carefully. Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below:
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 07:11 · grounding stimulus
Model Answer
(i) A vast blanket of pollution stretching across South Asia is modifying rainfall patterns in India by cutting down sunlight by 10 per cent, which disrupts the water cycle and changes monsoon behaviour.
(ii) (a) I, II and III
The pollution is cutting sunlight, damaging agriculture, and modifying rainfall patterns — all mentioned in paragraph 1.
(iii) possibility : potential : : suspecting : doubting
(The word "potential" in paragraph 2 means possibility.)
(iv) (c) There has not been enough time to determine that
Prof. Ramanathan clearly stated "it was too early to reach a conclusion" about droughts being caused by the haze.
(v) (Based on the pie chart reference)
- Does contribute to weather disruption: Pollution/haze (as supported by the passage).
- Does not contribute: A factor unrelated to atmospheric pollution (e.g., wildlife diversity, as per the chart segments).
(Note: Exact answer depends on legible chart labels.)
(vi) (a) worsen
"Aggravate" means to make worse; hence "worsen" is the correct synonym.
(vii) (d) blocking
"Cut down sunlight" means the haze is blocking sunlight from reaching the Earth's surface.
(viii) Two countries affected due to depleting forest cover: India and China (mentioned in paragraph 4).
(ix) (a) destroying
"Depleting" means gradually reducing or exhausting — closest in meaning to destroying/diminishing forest cover.
(x) (a) 1. Impact of Pollution in South Asia 2. Effects of Acid Rain 3. Understanding Consequences of Haze 4. Debate over Droughts
Each title accurately reflects the central idea of its respective paragraph.
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Explanation
- Key strategy: Each answer must come directly from the passage — no outside knowledge needed.
- For (iii), identify the word in paragraph 2 that means "possibility" → potential.
- For (vii), "cut down sunlight" = blocking light; do not confuse with "destroying" (that's for depleting).
- For (ix), "depleting forest cover" = forests gradually reducing/being destroyed → (a) destroying is closest among the options.
- For (x), match each paragraph's main idea to the title: para 1 = pollution's impact; para 2 = acid rain effects; para 3 = understanding haze consequences; para 4 = debate over whether haze causes droughts.
- For (v), since the pie chart is not fully legible, refer to what the passage identifies as causes of weather disruption (pollution, haze) vs. unrelated factors.