Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), a low-pressure zone, is located
- (a)between trade winds and westerlies belt
- (b)between westerlies and polar winds belt
- (c)nearby the poles
- (d)at the equator
Correct — D, at the equator. The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is the low-pressure belt near the equator where the north-east and south-east trade winds meet and converge. Intense solar heating there lifts warm, moist air, creating an equatorial low ('doldrums') with rising air and heavy convectional rain. Its mean position is over the equator, though it migrates a little north and south with the overhead Sun.
- (a)between trade winds and westerlies belt — That transition (around 30° N and S) is the sub-tropical HIGH-pressure belt (horse latitudes), not the equatorial low ITCZ.
- (b)between westerlies and polar winds belt — The meeting of westerlies and polar easterlies (around 60° N and S) is the sub-polar LOW, a different pressure belt from the ITCZ.
- (c)nearby the poles — The poles carry cold, dense, descending air — the polar HIGH-pressure zones, the opposite of the equatorial ITCZ.
Earth has four broad pressure belts arranged by latitude: the equatorial low (ITCZ) at 0°, the sub-tropical highs near 30°, the sub-polar lows near 60°, and the polar highs near 90°. The ITCZ forms because the equator gets the most direct sunlight, so air is heated, expands and rises, lowering surface pressure. Where the two trade-wind systems converge and rise, cloud and rain are abundant.
The wording gives you the answer: a 'low-pressure zone' formed by convergence points to the equator. The other options describe boundaries between wind systems that are actually high (30°) or another low (60°) — read 'low pressure + convergence + equator' together.
- ITCZ = equatorial low-pressure belt where the NE and SE trade winds converge.
- It sits over the equator (0°), the zone of maximum solar heating.
- Rising, moist air makes it a rainy, calm belt called the 'doldrums'.
- It shifts seasonally north/south, following the overhead Sun.
The ITCZ, where the trade winds converge, is the low-pressure belt sitting over the equator.
- Placing the ITCZ at 30° or 60° — those are the sub-tropical high and sub-polar low
- Thinking the ITCZ is fixed — it drifts north and south with the Sun
Asked as 'where is the ITCZ / equatorial low', or through the pressure-belt sequence and the monsoon. Anchor: ITCZ = equatorial low, trade winds converging at 0°.
Assertion (A): Areas lying within five to eight degrees latitude on either side of the equator receive rainfall throughout the year. Reason (R): High temperatures and high humidity cause convectional rain to fall mostly in the afternoons near the equator.
- (a) Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A
- (b) Both A and R are individually true but R is NOT the correct explanation of A
- (c) A is true but R is false
- (d) A is false but R is true
Answer(a) Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A
Same concept — the equatorial belt where the ITCZ stays overhead, giving year-round rising air and convectional rain.
In the South Atlantic and South-Eastern Pacific regions in tropical latitudes, cyclone does not originate. What is the reason?
- (a) Sea surface temperatures are low
- (b) Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone seldom occurs
- (c) Coriolis force is too weak
- (d) Absence of land in those regions
Answer(b) Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone seldom occurs
Same concept — the location/behaviour of the ITCZ near the equator, here explaining where tropical cyclones can form.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The calm, rainy belt of converging trade winds near the equator is popularly called the:
- (a)Horse latitudes
- (b)Doldrums
- (c)Roaring Forties
- (d)Polar front
Answer(b) Doldrums — the equatorial low / ITCZ.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The sub-tropical high-pressure belts of the Earth are located approximately at:
- (a)0° latitude
- (b)30° N and S
- (c)60° N and S
- (d)90° (the poles)
Answer(b) 30° N and S — the horse latitudes.