ABSTRACT

Tropical climates are of especial geographical interest because 50 per cent of the surface of the globe lies between latitudes 30°N and 30°S, and over 75 per cent of the world’s population inhabit climatically tropical lands. This chapter first describes the trade wind systems, the intertropical convergence zone and tropical weather systems. The major monsoon regimes are then examined and the climate of Amazonia. The effects of the alternating phases of the El Niño – Southern Oscillation in the equatorial Pacific Ocean are discussed as well as other causes of climatic variation in the tropics. Finally, the problems of forecasting tropical weather are briefly considered.