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I understand air is heated by the equator causing it to rise towards the poles. But why does air cool and sink after nearing the poles. Shouldn't the air still possess heat, after being heated by the equator?

Could adiabatic expansion cause the cooling of this air as it journeys towards the poles, or is this heat radiated back into space? Could someone please explain deeply how this air cools, and how convection currents work?

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  • $\begingroup$ Google “atmospheric circulation cells.” $\endgroup$
    – Chet Miller
    Commented Apr 13, 2022 at 15:32

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Everywhere on Earth, at all times, the air is cooling by radiating to space. That lost heat is replenished by solar energy. There's more solar energy per square meter at the equator than the poles. "Hot air rises", so, very crudely speaking, the air rises at the equator, with the matching downward flow happening at the poles because that's where there is the least solar heating.

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  • $\begingroup$ It’s not as simple as this. There are actually 3 major circulation cells. $\endgroup$
    – Chet Miller
    Commented Apr 13, 2022 at 15:34

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