Question

How does a high-pressure belt get formed near a 30° parallel? Why does this region have hot deserts?

Answer 1

1. Formation of a high-pressure belt near 30° parallel:
   1. The heated air from the equatorial region becomes lighter, starts ascending, and after reaching higher latitudes, moves towards the polar region, i.e., towards the North and South poles.
   2. Due to low temperatures at the higher altitude, the air cools down and becomes heavier.
   3. Thus heavier air descends down in both hemispheres in the region between 25° and 35° parallels.
   4. This leads to the formation of high-pressure belts in both hemispheres. In this way, a high-pressure belt gets formed near a 30° parallel.
2. Reasons for the region near 30° parallel having hot deserts:
   1. The air in the mid-latitudinal high-pressure belts (between 25° and 35° parallels in both the hemispheres) is found to be dry.
   2. The amount of water vapour is found to be very low in dry air. Hence, this region gets extremely scarce or no rainfall.
   3. Consequently, this region has hot deserts.