See how differing amounts of solar radiation at the poles and Equator affect Earth's climate and atmosphere
Differences in the amount of solar radiation available to the poles and the Equator drive atmospheric processes.
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News •
Several more days of wind, coastal flooding for East Coast
• Oct. 21, 2026, 6:30 AM ET (The Weather Channel)
Transcript
NARRATOR: On a hot day, you can see the same process at work as warm air rises from the Earth.
The movement of the atmosphere is powered by the Sun. It takes an enormous amount of energy to stir the atmosphere. Only the Sun is mighty enough to power wind and violent storms.
Why is it, that the Sun's energy strikes different parts of the world with different intensities?
We can find out in the laboratory. We'll use a globe, a light, and a screen that allows equal amounts of light to pass through its openings. Let's measure how much light strikes the North Pole. We count six units of light in about 25 square centimeters. At the Equator we count twelve units of light. That's twice as much light on the same sized area. This difference is what makes the wind blow.
Here's how. The tropical sun beats down on the ocean, evaporating water and heating the air day after day.
Near the Earth's poles, the temperature may be 150 degrees colder.
If we set up these conditions in a laboratory, we can make the wind visible. We see that cold air near a chunk of dry ice falls.
Hot air near a candle rises.
Gases and fluids behave in a similar way. Fluid in a hot place rises. Fluid in a cold place falls. Look what else is happening. The fluid is circulating in the chamber. That circulation is equivalent to wind. If you were inside this chamber near the bottom, you'd feel the "wind" blowing to the left. Near the top you'd feel it blow to the right. In a similar way, air rises from hot areas of the Earth. At the same time, air falls toward cool areas. This sets up an enormous circulation of air over the surface of the planet.
The movement of the atmosphere is powered by the Sun. It takes an enormous amount of energy to stir the atmosphere. Only the Sun is mighty enough to power wind and violent storms.
Why is it, that the Sun's energy strikes different parts of the world with different intensities?
We can find out in the laboratory. We'll use a globe, a light, and a screen that allows equal amounts of light to pass through its openings. Let's measure how much light strikes the North Pole. We count six units of light in about 25 square centimeters. At the Equator we count twelve units of light. That's twice as much light on the same sized area. This difference is what makes the wind blow.
Here's how. The tropical sun beats down on the ocean, evaporating water and heating the air day after day.
Near the Earth's poles, the temperature may be 150 degrees colder.
If we set up these conditions in a laboratory, we can make the wind visible. We see that cold air near a chunk of dry ice falls.
Hot air near a candle rises.
Gases and fluids behave in a similar way. Fluid in a hot place rises. Fluid in a cold place falls. Look what else is happening. The fluid is circulating in the chamber. That circulation is equivalent to wind. If you were inside this chamber near the bottom, you'd feel the "wind" blowing to the left. Near the top you'd feel it blow to the right. In a similar way, air rises from hot areas of the Earth. At the same time, air falls toward cool areas. This sets up an enormous circulation of air over the surface of the planet.
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