📘 IAS Prelims 2025 — GS-I | Q.77 | Classroom Explanation
(Geography | Time Zones & International Date Line)

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📌 Question

Q.77)
Consider the following statements:

I. Anadyr in Siberia and Nome in Alaska are a few kilometres from each other, but when people are waking up and getting set for breakfast in these cities, it would be different days.
II. When it is Monday in Anadyr, it is Tuesday in Nome.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) I only
(b) II only
(c) Both I and II
(d) Neither I nor II

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✅ Correct Answer: (a) I only

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🧑‍🏫 Classroom Explanation

This question tests high-yield prelims concepts:

• International Date Line (IDL)
• Time zone offsets near the Bering Strait
• Directional logic (east vs west of IDL)

UPSC often frames such questions to trap candidates who memorise time differences without understanding day shifts.

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🌍 Geographical Context (Static + Conceptual)

• Anadyr → Far-eastern Russia (Siberia), east of the International Date Line
• Nome → Alaska (USA), west of the International Date Line
• Distance between them: ~85 km across the Bering Strait

Despite physical proximity, they lie on opposite sides of the IDL.

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🔍 Statement-wise Analysis

🔹 Statement I ✅ Correct

• Time difference between Anadyr and Nome ≈ 20 hours
• Anadyr is far ahead in time
• Therefore, when people are waking up for breakfast in both places:
  • They are on different calendar days

📌 Example
If it is Tuesday morning in Anadyr, it is Monday morning in Nome

✔️ Statement I correctly captures this reality.

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🔹 Statement II ❌ Incorrect

• Statement claims: When it is Monday in Anadyr, it is Tuesday in Nome
• Actual situation:
  • Anadyr is ahead
  • Nome is behind
• So the correct relation is: When it is Monday in Anadyr, it is Sunday in Nome

📌 IDL Rule (Exam Gold):

• Cross IDL westward → gain a day
• Cross IDL eastward → lose a day

Here, moving from Anadyr (east) to Nome (west) → date goes backward

❌ Hence Statement II is wrong.

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🧠 One-Line Memory Hook (Prelims Gold)

“Near in space, far in date — Bering Strait bends the calendar.”

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📍 GS Mapping

International Date Line

GS Paper I

Geography

Time Zones

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