<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article relies too much on references to primary sources . Please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article relies too much on references to primary sources . Please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Rainfall and the tropical climate dominate the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year, roughly following the solar equator . The tropical rain belt is an area of active rain that is positioned mostly around the tropics . According to the website Journey North, the reason the rain belt is situated near the tropics can be attributed to the fact that most of the sun's radiation is directed toward the equator, which is located in the middle of the tropics . This solar radiation generates large amounts of heat near the equator providing tropical regions with higher temperatures than most other regions on Earth . </P> <P> With all this solar radiation, the air around the tropics begins to warm up . Because hot air is less dense than cold air, the hot air rises into the upper levels of the atmosphere and as a result, cold air filters down into the lower levels of the atmosphere . The dynamics that provide the tropics with the rain belt are founded on the principle that warmer air is able to retain more moisture than colder air . When the colder air replaces the warmer air in the lower atmosphere, the abundant moisture from the tropics loses the ability to be stored in the atmosphere . As a result, the excess moisture that cannot be held by the colder air is then turned into thunderstorms and rain showers . These thunderstorms and rain showers are usually located along the equator, but they will extend out to the Tropic of Cancer, which is the 23.5 north latitude, as well as the Tropic of Capricorn, which is the 23.5 south latitude . It is largely a manifestation of the ITCZ (pronounced "itch"). </P>

Does it rain a lot in the tropics