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Q41 (CDS-II/2013) Geography › World Physical Geography › Atmospheric heat balance Answer Verified

Albedo effect would be relatively higher in :

Result
Your answer: —  Â·  Correct: A
Explanation

Albedo is the ratio of reflected sunlight to incident radiation [1]. It is highly dependent on the solar zenith angle, which is the angle between the sun's rays and the vertical [6]. During early morning and late evening, the sun is at a low elevation (high zenith angle), causing the rays to strike the surface at an oblique angle [5]. This low angle of incidence significantly increases the reflectivity (albedo) of surfaces, particularly water bodies, as the light is more likely to be reflected than absorbed [5]. In contrast, during noon, the sun is at its highest altitude, and the rays strike more vertically, leading to lower reflection and higher absorption [5]. Research indicates that surface albedos are much higher in the morning and afternoon compared to the midday period [5]. Therefore, the albedo effect is relatively higher during the early morning and late evening.

Sources

  1. [1] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 21: Horizontal Distribution of Temperature > Albedo > p. 283
  2. [6] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/albedo-effect
  3. [4] Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 2: The Earth's Crust > SEASONAL CHANGES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON TEMPERATURE > p. 8
  4. [5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22392839/
  5. [3] FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Geography Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 8: Solar Radiation, Heat Balance and Temperature > Variability of Insolation at the Surface of the Earth > p. 67
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