What causes wind to blow?

Wind blows due to air-pressure gradients that are the result of the uneven heating of the
Earth's atmosphere. Prevailing winds blow in a consistent direction over large areas of
the Earth's surface, while local winds are dependent upon regional geography.

The Earth's curvature and tilt upon its axis cause the sun to heat the atmosphere
unevenly. This results in some regions of the world having warmer air and others having
cooler air. Warm air expands and increases the space between air molecules, creating a
high-pressure system. In cool air, molecules are more tightly packed, and the air
pressure is lower. Air molecules naturally flow from areas of low pressure to high
pressure, so there is a natural movement of air between different areas in the Earth's
atmosphere. This movement is responsible for wind.
Because large regions of the Earth experience seasonal changes in temperature, they
also experience predictable wind patterns. These patterns are the prevailing winds. The
trade winds are easterly prevailing winds in the tropics. The westerlies prevail in the
middle latitudes.
Some regions of the world also experience local winds. These occur due to regional
geographic features, such as water bodies and mountain ranges. Large bodies of water
heat up to a higher temperature than the land, and lowlands become warmer more
quickly than mountaintops. These temperature patterns create localized air flows from
cooler to warmer areas.

How does the unequal heating of Earth's

surface cause winds?
The uneven heating of the Earth's surface creates hot and cold spots, creating the potential for
convective currents. Air above a warm spot rises, creating a low pressure zone near the
surface. Colder, denser air near the surface in a higher pressure zone then flows in, creating
wind.

Heat's effect on the wind cycle is most easily observed near the sea. During the day, the
ocean absorbs heat from the surface, keeping the air above it cooler than above the
land. When the warm air rises from the shore, the cooler air from the ocean blows in to
take its place. At night, the land cools quickly, while the ocean radiates the heat it
absorbed, keeping the air above warm. This reverses the effect, causing the air offshore

to rise and creating a breeze from the land. Uneven heating can also occur due
geographical features. A mountainside exposed to the sun will warm more than a
shadowed valley below it, creating a wind that blows uphill during the day and downhill
at night.
The same principle is responsible for global wind patterns. The Polar Regions receive
less solar radiation than areas near the equator, resulting in a global shift in temperature
according to latitude. This, along with differences in temperature and density in various
layers of the atmosphere, creates global wind patterns like the jet stream that help drive
weather systems.

How does the sun affect the Earth?

The sun provides the Earth with energy in the form of heat, which it uses to warm the Earth's
surface, oceans and atmosphere. The heat energy found in the atmosphere is one of the major
components of the Earth's climate and climate change, according to Windows to the Universe.
The sun gives off radiation as well as heat energy. The amount of radiation that the Earth
receives depends on the Earth's position and the amount of clouds in the Earth's atmosphere.
The radiation given off by the sun affects the Earth's climate patterns and its overall
temperature. Solar activity, such as solar flares or sunspots, increases the amount of radiation
that is given off by the sun and causes the Earth to have dramatic changes in temperature.