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Revision note: Atmosphere, Insolation, Pressure Belts and Winds

  • Air: N2 78%, O2 21%, Ar 0.93%, CO2 ~0.04% (>420 ppm); water vapour up to 4%
  • Layers: troposphere (weather, 6.5°C/km lapse, 18 km at equator), stratosphere (ozone, warming), mesosphere (meteors), thermosphere (ionosphere, auroras)
  • Albedo ~35%; heat budget balances; inversion traps smog
  • Belts: equatorial low (ITCZ, doldrums), subtropical highs 30° (horse latitudes, deserts), subpolar lows 60°, polar highs
  • Coriolis: right in NH, left in SH; zero at equator; trades, westerlies (Roaring Forties), polar easterlies; Hadley–Ferrel–Polar cells
  • Local winds: Loo, Foehn, Chinook, Sirocco, Harmattan, Mistral, Kalbaisakhi, mango showers
  • Jet streams: west-to-east, 9–14 km; subtropical westerly jet, tropical easterly jet, western disturbances
Revision card summarising Atmosphere, Insolation, Pressure Belts and Winds
One-page visual summary of the key points to revise.

Source: https://upscprep.in/upsc/gs1/physical-geography-in-depth/atmosphere-insolation-pressure-belts-and-winds/ · UPSCPrep.in

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