Question

Explain how the sun’s unequal heating of Earth’s surface results in deserts near 30° north and south of the equator.

Short answer

The evaporation of water due to high temperature causes warm and moist air to rise in the atmosphere. The moist air rises and becomes cool in the tropical area and releases much water, precipitating as rain over the topics.

However, the dry air sinks at 30 degrees north and south of the equator, causing deserts.

Step-by-step solution

Unequal heating of the Earth’s surface

The unequal heating of the Earth’s surface is caused by the orbiting of the Earth around the Sun.The Earth and the Sun is a sphere, and when the Earth revolves around the Sun, the center of the Earth receives more sunlight than the poles and becomes hotter than other parts of the Earth.

Hot and cool air forms the climate 

The dry air is hot when it rises and produces a low-pressure area by drawing air from other parts, leading to the formation of wind.Climate and weather patterns are created by the heating and cooling of the air.

Also, uneven heating leads to different climate zones on the Earth.

Step 3:Formation of deserts

The Earth is bent on its axis, and the Sun’s rays directly fall on the equator, causing it to get more heated than the other areas. However, the Sun’s rays fall in a slanting manner, moving toward the north or south of the equator.

On the leeward side, less moisture stays in the air, which results in little precipitation. The rain shadow can produce a desert on the leeward side of the mountain range. Thus, the rain shadows form many deserts near 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator.