Given below are two statements, one labeled as Assertion (A) and the other labeled as Reason (R). Select your answer from the codes given below: Assertion (A): The Peru desert is recognized as a Cold Desert Reason (R): The temperature of Humbolt current plays a dominant role in controlling the surface atmospheric conditions of the coastal areas.

Explanation

The Sechura Desert is a coastal desert located south of the Piura Region of Peru along the Pacific Ocean coast and inland to the foothills of the Andes Mountains. Its extreme aridity is caused by the upwelling of cold coastal waters and subtropical atmospheric subsidence, but it is also subject to occasional flooding during El Ni o years. The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America. It is an eastern boundary current flowing in the direction of the equator, and extends 500–1,000 km (310–620 mi) offshore. The Humboldt Current is named after the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt even though it was discovered by Jos de Acosta 250 years before Humboldt. The Humboldt has a considerable cooling influence on the climate of Chile, Peru and Ecuador. It is also largely responsible for the aridity of Atacama Desert in northern Chile and coastal areas of Peru and also of the aridity of southern Ecuador. Marine air is cooled by the current and thus is not conducive to generating precipitation (although clouds and fog are produced).