Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ )

The equatorial region where trade winds converge, supplying moisture and heat, to form an irregular line of clouds, convection, and precipitation. The ITCZ represents the upward branch of the Hadley circulation. The ITCZ is important to the global energy balance.

An area where the Northern and Southern Hemispheric trade winds converge, usually located between 10 degrees North and South of the equator. It is a broad area of low pressure where both the Coriolis force and the low-level pressure gradient are weak, occasionally allowing tropical disturbances to form. It fluctuates in location, following the sun's rays, so that during the Northern Hemisphere summer, the ITCZ moves northward over the southern North Atlantic and southern Asia.