The lack of cloud cover in this view of Europe and North Africa reveals the colours of different climate zones - the green of temperate Europe, the beige of arid desert and the dark green of tropical Africa. The thin band of cloud along the southern Mediterranean marks the meeting place of the Trade Winds, which blow from the northeast and the southeast. Composed of photographs from several satellites, this true-colour image is centered on a point on the Greenwich Meridian approximately 30 degrees north of the equator.