Consider the following statements.

1. In the tropical zone, the western sections of the oceans are warmer than the eastern sections owing to the influence of trade winds.

2. In the temperate zone, westerlies make the eastern sections of oceans warmer than the western sections.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The correct option is Both 1 and 2.

Statement 1 Analysis:

In the tropical zone (between the Equator and the Tropics), trade winds blow from east to west (easterlies). As these trade winds sweep across the ocean, they push the warm surface waters westward. This accumulation of warm water on the western side of ocean basins makes the western sections warmer. On the eastern side of the ocean basins, the departure of warm surface water causes colder subsurface water to rise to the surface (a process known as upwelling). Thus, in tropical oceans, western sections are warmer than eastern sections.

Statement 2 Analysis:

In the temperate zone (mid-latitudes), the prevailing winds are the westerlies, which blow from west to east. Ocean currents in these latitudes, influenced by the westerlies and the Coriolis effect, carry warm water from lower latitudes toward the eastern margins of ocean basins (for example, the North Atlantic Drift warm current warming the eastern Atlantic/Western Europe). Conversely, cold ocean currents move down along the western ocean margins from higher latitudes. As a result, in temperate zones, the eastern sections of ocean basins are warmer than their western sections.

Therefore, both statements 1 and 2 are correct.