Why do planetary winds in the Northern Hemisphere consistently curve to the right of their direction of motion?
Earth's rotation
Planetary winds such as the trade winds, westerlies and polar easterlies blow over large belts of the globe. They start moving because of differences in pressure, but their paths are bent by an apparent force called the Coriolis force.
The Coriolis force arises because the Earth spins on its axis from west to east, and points at different latitudes move at different speeds. Air moving over this rotating surface appears to be deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
Differences in atmospheric pressure set the air in motion from high to low pressure, but they do not cause the steady sideways deflection. The Earth's revolution around the Sun produces the seasons, not the bending of winds.
Gravitational pull acts towards the centre of the Earth and holds the atmosphere in place; it does not turn moving air to one side. So the consistent rightward curving in the Northern Hemisphere is due to the rotation of the Earth.
Hence, Earth's rotation.
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