Unit 2

• Assertion (A) is True: Delhi experiences a continental semi-arid climate where January is consistently the coldest month of the year due to cold northwesterly winds descending from the Himalayas following western disturbances.
• Reason (R) is False: The Earth is actually at perihelion (closest to the Sun, $\approx 147.1\text{ million km}$) in early January, and at aphelion (farthest from the Sun, $\approx 152.1\text{ million km}$) in early July.
• Climatic Mechanism: Winter in Delhi is caused by the $23.5^\circ$ axial tilt of the Earth tilting the Northern Hemisphere away from the Sun, reducing solar declination and daily insolation, not the Earth-Sun distance.

Correct option: (3) (A) is true but (R) is false

• van 't Hoff's Law of Chemical Equilibrium:
• States that for an endothermic chemical or biological reaction ($\Delta H \gt 0$), an increase in temperature shifts the equilibrium forward and increases the rate of the reaction. (Correct answer: Option 2)

• Statement (I) is Incorrect: The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was opened for signature during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED / Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 (not 1991), entering into force on 29 December 1993.
• Statement (II) is Incorrect: India signed the CBD on 5 June 1992 and ratified it on 18 February 1994 (not 1995), thereby becoming a party in 1994.
• Conclusion: Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are incorrect.

Correct option: (2) Both Statement (|) and Statement (II) are incorrect