Consider the following statements : 1. A hurricane acquires its spin, from the coriolis effect. 2. The diameter of the hurricane decreases as it, moves away from low latitudes, 3. The diameter of a hurricane is never below 150 km. Which of the statements given above is /are correct ?

Statement 1 is correct as hurricanes acquire their cyclonic spin from the Coriolis effect, which deflects moving air to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and left in the Southern Hemisphere, creating a vortex [t2][t5][t8]. Statement 2 is incorrect; while hurricanes follow curved paths toward higher latitudes due to the Coriolis force (beta effect), their diameter generally increases rather than decreases as they move away from low latitudes and expand [c1][t7]. Statement 3 is incorrect because, although typical tropical cyclones have diameters ranging from 150 to 500 km [c4], the term 'hurricane' refers to the intensity (wind speed) rather than a fixed minimum size. Smaller systems like 'midget' tropical cyclones can exist with diameters significantly below 150 km, and the 150 km figure is a general characteristic rather than a strict physical lower limit [c3][c4].

Sources

1. [1] https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/education/tropical-cyclone/intensity/00150-why-do-tropical-cyclones-always-form-more-than-5-degrees-of-latitude-away-from-the-equator.html
2. [2] https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/coriolis-effect-1/
3. [3] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 26: Tropical Cyclones > 26.4. Path of Tropical Cyclones > p. 371
4. [4] Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 8: Natural Hazards and Disaster Management > Tropical Cyclones > p. 46
5. [5] INDIA PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT, Geography Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 6: Natural Hazards and Disasters > Tropical Cyclone > p. 59