Climatology
Pressure belts and planetary winds
Practise 2 PYQsConcepts to cover
- Pressure belts: equatorial low, subtropical highs, subpolar lows, polar highs; seasonal shift
- Pressure gradient force, frictional force and Coriolis force; geostrophic wind
- Coriolis force: zero at the equator, maximum at the poles, proportional to wind speed, deflection direction
- Cyclonic and anticyclonic circulation in each hemisphere
- General circulation: Hadley, Ferrel and polar cells; ITCZ; trade winds, westerlies, polar easterlies
- Doldrums and horse latitudes; belts of calm
Where to study
Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Class XI, chapter 9: Atmospheric Circulation and Weather Systems (Reprint 2026-27)
- ch. 9, Atmospheric Circulation and Weather Systems, p. 1-10 (book pages 76-85)
- ch. 9, World Distribution of Sea Level Pressure, p. 2 (book page 77)
- ch. 9, Forces Affecting the Velocity and Direction of Wind, p. 3-4 (book pages 78-79)
- ch. 9, Pressure Gradient Force, p. 3 (book page 78)
- ch. 9, Coriolis Force, p. 3 (book page 78)
- ch. 9, Pressure and Wind, p. 4 (book page 79)
- ch. 9, General circulation of the atmosphere, p. 4-5 (book pages 79-80)
Our Environment, Class VII, chapter 4: Air (Reprint 2024-25)
- ch. 4, Air, p. 1-10 (book pages 20-29)
- ch. 4, doldrums, p. 6 (book page 25)
Certificate Physical and Human Geography · Goh Cheng Leong
- ch. 13, Weather