Global Wind

Recall that wind is caused by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface. You can review this concept here.

North-south variations in heating cause the northward or southward motions of the atmosphere. This is called meridional flow.

meridional flow

Source: WeatherSTEM

The rotation of the earth is responsible for the East and West motion of the atmosphere. This is called zonal flow.

zonal flow

Source: WeatherSTEM