What is Trade Wind ?

The Trade Winds blow on either side of the Equatorial Trough, NE’ly in the N hemisphere and SE’ly in the S hemisphere. The Trades blow with great persistence and each embraces a zone of some 1,200 miles of latitude.  Trade winds, however, do not blow throughout this zone. The South West Monsoon winds blow instead off part of the West coast of Africa, in the North Indian Ocean and in the W part of the North Pacific Ocean. The trades move slightly north and south with the sun; their approximate limits are as follows:

                                                          February                      August

            Atlantic Doldrums      000° – 002°N               005°N – 010°N

            N.E. Trade                      002°N – 025°N            010°N – 030°N

            S.E. Trade                      000° – 030°S                005°N – 025°S 

            Pacific Doldrums        004°N – 008°N            008°N – 012°N

            N.E. Trade                     008°N – 025°N            012°N – 030°N

            E. Trade                          004°N – 030°S             008°N – 025°S 

           Indian S.E. Trade        015°S – 030°S             000s  – 025s