Translations:AY Honors/Weather - Advanced/Answer Key/85/en

The thunderstorms of the Intertropical Convergence Zone form a line across the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The Belt of Calms is more properly known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). It is also known as the Intertropical Front, Monsoon trough, Doldrums or the Equatorial Convergence Zone, is a belt of low pressure girdling Earth at the equator. It is formed by the vertical ascent of warm, moist air from the latitudes above and below the equator.

Position of the ITCZ in July (red) and in January (blue).

The air is drawn into the intertropical convergence zone by the action of the Hadley cell, a macroscale atmospheric feature which is part of the Earth's heat and moisture distribution system. It is transported aloft by the convective activity of thunderstorms; regions in the intertropical convergence zone receive precipitation more than 200 days in a year.