Consider the following statements: Statement-I: The temperature contrast between continents and oceans is greater during summer than in winter. Statement-II: The specific heat of water is more than that of land surface. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Re-examination: UPSC’s key indicates the intended frame is the seasonal heating contrast between land and sea.
Statement-I: Correct. In summer, continents heat up much faster than oceans, so the land becomes markedly hotter than the sea; this strong thermal contrast drives features like the summer monsoon.
Statement-II: Correct. Water has higher specific heat than land, so oceans warm more slowly while land heats quickly.
Link: Statement-II correctly explains Statement-I: because water heats more slowly than land, the summer land–ocean temperature contrast becomes pronounced. Hence (a) is the intended answer.
Note: My earlier conclusion treated winter continental cooling as producing a stronger absolute contrast in some regions, but for this standard climatology concept UPSC has clearly used the conventional land-heats-faster-than-sea explanation for summer contrast.