ELI5: Why do we have placed on earth like desert and those with constant rain?

Imagine Earth is like a giant playground with a really big, hot lamp (the sun) shining on it. But this lamp doesn't shine evenly everywhere.

• Angle of the sun: Think about holding a flashlight. If you shine it straight down, the light is bright and concentrated. If you angle it, the light spreads out and is dimmer. The sun hits the equator (the middle of the Earth) more directly than the poles (the top and bottom). This means the equator gets more heat.

• Hot air rises: Hot air is like a balloon. It goes up! At the equator, the hot air rises, cools down, and then drops water as rain. That's why you have rainforests near the equator.

• Dry air and deserts: After the air dumps its water, it becomes dry and heavy. It sinks back down around 30 degrees latitude (a bit north and south of the equator). This dry air sucks up any moisture from the ground, creating deserts like the Sahara.

• Mountains block rain: Imagine a mountain in the way of the wind. The wind carrying rain clouds hits the mountain and is forced to go up. As it goes up, it cools and releases its rain on one side of the mountain. The other side of the mountain becomes dry because the air has already lost its water. This is called a rain shadow.

• Ocean currents: The ocean is like a giant conveyor belt moving warm and cold water around the globe. Warm currents can bring rain to some areas, while cold currents can make other areas drier.