charcteristics of Trade wind

The characteristics of trade wind are as follows:-

a)they blow over nearly half of the globe hence their extent of activity is large;

b)they originate at low latitudes on the margins of the sub-tropical high pressure cells;

c)they possess constancy of direction & speed(about 7m/sec.);

d)they are strongest during the winter half of the year & resembles westerlies in this regard;

e)their seasonal extent varies considerably - from July to September they spread westwards into pacific while in Atlantic they extend to the coast of Brazil;

f)they provide relatively stable & constant climate;

g)they blow with a westerly component towards the equator from the north-east in Northern Hemisphere & from south-east in the Southern Hemisphere;

h)the belt of trade wind lies between equatorial trough & sub-tropical highs;

i)westerlies intervene between it's 2 belts especially over continents in the hemispheres enjoying summer;

j)they are more pronounced over oceans than over the continents;

k)Both the trade wind belts are more constant on the eastern side of oceans than over western sides as a result eastern coastlines & off-shore islands exhibit very arid conditions (eg.- Canary islands) owing to dry air mass & strong low level inversion temperature.

l)It removes surplus heat from sub-tropical high pressure belts & maintaining Earth's heat balance & return surplus air to equatorial zone.