Equatorial climate

Equatorial climates and tropical trade-wind climates

When tropical rainforest climates are more dominated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) than the trade winds (and with no or rare cyclones), so usually located near the equator, they are also called equatorial climates. Otherwise, when they are more dominated by the trade winds than the ITCZ, they are called tropical trade-wind climates. In pure equatorial climates, the atmospheric pressure is almost constantly low so the horizontal pressure gradient is low, and winds are rare and usually weak (except sea and land breezes in coastal areas). In tropical trade-wind climates, often located at higher latitudes than the equatorial climates, the wind is almost permanent, which leads to rainforests that are impoverished compared to those of equatorial climates, due to their necessary resistance to strong winds accompanying tropical disturbances.