Question

Name three types of winds.

Answer 1

Hint: Wind is nothing but moving air which has contributed as a power source in terms of mechanical energy for the production of electricity in windmills and hot air balloons. When the winds are powerful, they lead to the destruction in the form of cyclones and storms, resulting in forest fires, landslides etc.

Complete Step by Step Answer: Wind blowing above the earth surface may be categorized into 5 main types:
-Planetary winds
-Trade winds
-The westerlies
-Periodic winds (Monsoon winds, Land breeze, Sea breeze)
-Mountain and valley breeze
-Local winds

Planetary winds constitute winds distributed throughout the lower atmosphere. The winds blow annually throughout the year restricted within latitudinal belts, mainly in the north-east and south-east directions or from high-pressure polar-regions to low-pressure areas.

Trade winds are also known as tropical easterlies. They blow from the Northern hemisphere and to the Southern hemisphere due to Coriolis effect and Ferrel’s law. They start blowing from the subtropical high-pressure regions towards the equatorial low-pressure belt. In the Northern hemisphere, they blow as northeastern trades, and in the Southern hemisphere, they blow as southeastern trades.

The Westerlies are also known as Shrieking Sixties, Furious Fifties and Roaring Forties. They blow from the subtropical high-pressure regions towards sub-polar low-pressure belts. The westerlies of the Southern hemisphere are stronger and constant than the westerlies of the Northern hemisphere. This is because there is less land in the middle latitudes to influence the flow pattern to become more north-south acquainted. This creates friction in the motion which eventually slows down the Westerlies.

Note: The wind speed and direction is measured with the help of Anemometers and wind vanes. The primary reason for the generation of wind is the unequal heating of two regions, that is between land and sea, and between the equator and pole.