Clouds are formed when the water vapors present in the air condenses and turn into water drops or ice crystals. The condensation of water vapors occurs on the tiny dust particles at an altitude where the temperature matches the dew point of the water.
Quick Question:
What causes the development of most clouds and precipitation in the atmosphere?
- a) Rising Temperature
- b) Rising Air ✔️
- c) Rising Oceans
- d) Rising Density
Answer: b) Rising air
What are clouds made of and how do they form?
On a rainy day, whenever we look into the sky, we notice cotton-like fluffy clouds. Have you ever wondered how these fluffy clouds are formed? Let’s understand the science behind the formation of clouds.
Cloud is a fluffy mass consists of water drops and ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosphere. Clouds are divided into 10 types based on their altitude of formation.
High-level Clouds: Clouds that are formed at an altitude between 16,500-45,000 feet are known as high-level clouds. Clouds such as Cirrus, Cirrostratus, and Cirrocumulus are high-level clouds.
Mid-level Clouds: Clouds found at altitude in the range of 6,500-23,000 feet are known as mid-level clouds. Altocumulus, Altostratus, and Nimbostratus are examples of mid-level clouds.
Low-level clouds: The clouds that are formed below 6,500 feet altitude are called low-level clouds. Examples of low-level clouds are Cumulus, Stratus, Cumulonimbus, and Stratocumulus.
Apart from these clouds, there a few special clouds such as Contrails, Mammatus clouds, Orographic clouds, and Lenticular clouds.
How does a cloud form?
The formation of clouds is a part of the earth’s water cycle in which liquid water on the earth’s surface evaporates into water vapor, condenses to form clouds, and precipitates back to earth in the form of rain and snow. Now, let’s understand the steps involved in the formation of clouds.
Step 1: Evaporation of water into the air
The cloud formation process starts with the process of evaporation. The water present in the oceans, rivers, and other reservoirs absorbs heat from the sunlight and gets converted into water vapors. These water vapors travel in the air.
Step 2: Convection in the earth’s atmosphere
The continuous heat from the sun also heats up the air present at the ground level surface. This hot air becomes lighter and starts to rise up in the atmosphere. This hot air holds a certain amount of water vapors depending upon the temperature and pressure of the air. The air with high temperature or high pressure can hold more water vapors in it. When air holds water vapors at its highest level, it is referred to as saturated air.
Step 3: Condensation of water vapors
As this saturated hot air rises up, it’s surrounding temperature and pressure starts to drop. This drop in temperature and pressure cause this air to cool down. After reaching a certain altitude where the temperature matches the dew point or frost point of water, this saturated air cannot hold water vapors anymore. At this altitude, water vapors use tiny dust particles in the atmosphere to condense and form water drops or ice crystals. The process of water vapors converting into water droplets is known as condensation while the conversion of water vapors directly to ice crystals is known as a deposition.
These water drops and ice crystals come together to form a cloud.
What are the 3 things needed for a cloud to form?
The three things that are need for the formation of the cloud are moisture, dew, or frost temperature and condensation nuclei.
Moisture: The rising hot air should hold a sufficient amount of water vapor. Air with high temperature or pressure has a high capacity to hold water vapors.
Dew or frost temperature: For condensation of water vapors to happen, the temperature at a given altitude should reach the dew point or frost point of the water.
Condensation Nuclei: The process of condensation becomes easier when the water vapors have enough surface area to change from gas to liquid or solid form. The tiny particles present in the atmosphere such as dust, salt, bacteria, ash, and pollens provide a surface for condensation. They are called condensation nuclei.
Where do clouds form?
Clouds form at an altitude where the atmospheric temperature reaches the dew point or frost point of the water. At this altitude, water vapors start to condense on tiny dust particles present in the atmosphere. The formation of clouds can occur at different heights or altitudes depending upon the atmospheric temperature which varies with different locations.
When do clouds form?
Clouds are formed when the temperature of rising air reaches the dew point of the water. At this temperature and altitude, the air can no longer hold water vapors and these water vapors condense on dust particles to form water droplets. The accumulation of these water drops forms a cloud.
How do clouds form over a low-pressure center?
We know that air moves from high pressure to low pressure. In a low-pressure system, air moves towards the low-pressure center from all directions. As air from all directions meets at the center, air can go either up or down. The air goes up because it is forced to go up due to the upward slope of the land. This air rises up and reaches an altitude where the temperature matches the dew or frost point of the water. The condensation at this altitude eventually leads to the formation of clouds.
How do particles of salt and dust affect cloud formation?
The presence of salt and dust particles plays an important role in the formation of cloud droplets. They provide a surface for precipitation of the water vapors. As the rising air reaches the dew point of the water, the tiny insoluble particles such as dust, ash, pollen, and salt present in the atmosphere provide a surface for water vapors to condense into water droplets or ice crystals. The tiny drops of water on these dust and salt particles form cloud droplets and the accumulation of these cloud droplets form a cloud.
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