Consider the following statements relating to cyclone, anti cyclone and trade wind :
- 1. The wind direction is clockwise in the cyclone of northern hemisphere
- 2. The planetary wind that blows from north-east to north-west is known as north-east trade wind
- 3. The wind direction is anti clockwise in the anticyclone of southern hemisphere
- 4. Both westerlies and trade winds originate from sub-tropical highs
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
3 and 4 only
1, 3 and 4
4 only
1, 2 and 3
Answer is Wrong!
Answer is Right!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CAPF – 2015
Statement 4: Both westerlies and trade winds originate from sub-tropical highs. The Subtropical High-Pressure belt (around 30° N and S) is a zone of descending air. From this high-pressure area, air flows towards the equator as Trade Winds and towards the poles as Westerlies. This statement is correct.
Statement 1: The wind direction is clockwise in the cyclone of northern hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis effect deflects air to the right. In a cyclone (low pressure), air flows inward towards the center; deflected to the right, this results in an anti-clockwise rotation. Statement 1 is incorrect.
Statement 2: The planetary wind that blows from north-east to north-west is known as north-east trade wind. North-east trade winds blow from the north-east to the south-west (towards the equator) in the Northern Hemisphere. Statement 2 is incorrect.
Therefore, only statements 3 and 4 are correct.
Southern Hemisphere: Cyclones (Low Pressure) – Clockwise inflow; Anticyclones (High Pressure) – Anti-clockwise outflow.
Trade Winds blow from Subtropical Highs towards the Equator. Westerlies blow from Subtropical Highs towards Subpolar Lows.