You Stand near the Earth's Equator

You stand near the Earth's equator.A positively charged particle that starts moving parallel to the surface of the Earth in a straight line directed east is initially deflected upwards.If you know there are no electric fields in the vicinity, a possible reason why the particle does not initially acquire a downward component of velocity is because near the equator the magnetic field lines of the Earth are directed:

A) upward.
B) downward.
C) from south to north.
D) from north to south.
E) from east to west.