Consider the following statements regarding the International Date Line : 1. It is roughly 180° meridian, which deviates slightly East and West to avoid land areas surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. 2. The date to the East of this line is (24 hours) earlier than to the West. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

Statement 1 is incorrect because the International Date Line lies along approximately the 180° meridian in the Pacific Ocean, not the Atlantic, and deviates to avoid land areas in the Pacific (such as parts of Russia, the Aleutians, Kiribati and other islands). Statement 2 is also incorrect: a traveller crossing the Date Line from west to east loses a day, meaning the date to the east of the line is 24 hours behind (earlier in calendar terms only when crossing east-to-west you add a day). The conventional statement is that the date to the WEST of the line is one day ahead of the east. Hence neither statement is correct.