Which of the following statements with reference to lines of latitudes is/are correct ? 1. The distance between two successive latitudes changes slightly from the equator to the poles. 2. If parallels of latitude are drawn at an interval of one degree, the total number of parallels thus drawn, including the equator, will be 179. Select the answer using the code given below :

Statement 1 is correct because the Earth is an oblate spheroid, slightly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator [3]. This oblateness causes the linear distance of one degree of latitude to increase slightly from approximately 110.57 km at the equator to 111.7 km at the poles [5]. Statement 2 is also correct regarding the count of parallels. Latitudes are drawn at one-degree intervals from 0° (equator) to 90° North and 90° South [5]. While there are 90 points of latitude in each hemisphere, the 90th degree (the North and South Poles) are points rather than lines or circles [4]. Therefore, there are 89 parallels in the Northern Hemisphere, 89 in the Southern Hemisphere, and the equator itself, totaling 179 parallels (89 + 89 + 1 = 179).

Sources

1. [1] Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 2: The Earth's Crust > Latitude > p. 10
2. [3] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 18: Latitudes and Longitudes > 18.3. Comparison: Latitude vs. Longitude > p. 250
3. [5] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/oblateness
4. [4] Exploring Society:India and Beyond. Social Science-Class VI . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 1: Locating Places on the Earth > b) Latitudes > p. 14