A large part of Earth’s climate is caused by the movement of air around the Earth. In this lesson, you will learn what causes this movement of air and what patterns exist in the way air moves across the globe.
Take a moment to study this animation of global air circulation. You are watching air circulation for one calendar year, made up of hourly data. Cloud cover is generally shown in white with areas of precipitation shown in orange. What patterns do you see? Which direction is the wind moving in different parts of the globe?