Hadley cellFrom the equator to about 30°. Air heated at the equator rises, flows poleward high up, sinks near 30° and returns along the surface.
Ferrel cellThe mid-latitude cell, 30° to 60°. Surface air flows poleward and eastward. Air higher up flows back toward the equator.
Polar cellThe smallest and weakest cell, from about 60° to the pole. Air rises, flows poleward, sinks over the pole and spreads out at the surface.
Trade windsEasterly surface winds in the Hadley cell. They blow toward the equator from the northeast and southeast.
WesterliesThe prevailing surface winds between about 35° and 60°. They blow from the west.
Polar easterliesEast-blowing surface winds spreading out from the high pressure over the poles.
Pressure belts and jets: 5 5
Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)The belt of low pressure at the equator. The trade winds meet here and warm air rises.
Subtropical highBelts of high pressure near 30° north and south. The Hadley cell's air sinks here, with light winds and dry weather.
Subpolar lowBelts of low pressure at about 50° to 60° north and south. They have rainy, stormy weather.
Subtropical jetA jet stream high in the atmosphere at about 30°. It lies above the edge between the Hadley and Ferrel cells.
Polar jetA jet stream high in the atmosphere at about 50° to 60°. It lies above the edge between the Ferrel and polar cells.
How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. (1) NOAA JetStream, Global Atmospheric Circulations, https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/global-atmospheric-circulations : three cells in each hemisphere; Hadley cell (air moves toward the equator, rises, moves poleward aloft; tropical and subtropical; named for George Hadley, 1735); Ferrel cell (surface air poleward and eastward, air aloft equatorward; westerly winds between 35° and 60°); polar cell (air sinks over the poles into polar highs; polar easterlies; smallest and weakest); high pressure at about 30° and at each pole, low pressure at the equator and 50° to 60°. (2) NOAA JetStream, The Jet Stream, https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/jet-stream : the polar jet between 50° and 60°, the subtropical jet around 30°, both hemispheres. (3) Wikipedia, Atmospheric circulation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_circulation : trade winds as the easterly surface winds of the Hadley cell; the horse latitudes, high pressure at about 30° to 35°; the prevailing westerlies; the intertropical convergence zone. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-26. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
The Hadley cell and the two cells beside it, on one globe with the atmosphere drawn thick at its edge. Start with the 3 cells and the 3 surface winds, then the pressure belts and jets.
Read the full guide
Three cells a side
Each hemisphere has three cells. In the Hadley cell, from the equator to about 30°, heated air rises, flows poleward high up and sinks. The Ferrel cell runs from 30° to 60°, and the polar cell from 60° to the pole.
Winds and belts
At the surface the Hadley cell makes the trade winds, the Ferrel cell the westerlies, and the polar cell the polar easterlies. Low pressure lies at the equator and 50° to 60°; high pressure at about 30° and the poles.
Deserts cluster near 30° north and south, under the sinking air of the subtropical highs: the American Southwest, northern Africa and Australia.
Questions and answers
What is a Hadley cell?
The circulation nearest the equator. Air heated at the equator rises, moves poleward high up, sinks near 30°, and flows back towards the equator along the surface as the trade winds.
Who was the Hadley cell named after?
George Hadley, an English physicist and meteorologist, who proposed one circulation for each hemisphere in 1735.
Where are the jet streams?
High in the atmosphere: the subtropical jet around 30° and the polar jet between 50° and 60°, in both hemispheres.