A cloud is a stack of deliquescing water vapor in the atmosphere. Liquefied droplets of water make up a cloud. Clouds are formed when the sun heats the air in the atmosphere. As the heated air rises, it cools and becomes soaked with water. The water then condenses, and a cloud is formed. Clouds float because its composition is warm compared to the air surrounding it. The three things that facilitate the cloud formation process are temperature, moisture, and condensation. In a day, clouds can cover very long distances depending on their level in the atmosphere. Clouds are gray due to their height and thickness, more so, because of blocking the sunlight. Clouds look darker when ice crystals and water droplets making it to become thicker, and, light cannot penetrate thicker clouds.
The four types of clouds are cirrus, stratus, nimbus, and cumulus. Different clouds are formed in different ways. Some are created when the sun heats the air near the earth’s surface. Also, when the sun heats the ground. When the ground is heated by the sun, the air above it warms and rises. Warm air rises because when air is warm, it is less dense and lighter compared to the surrounding air. When the air is rising, its temperature and pressure drop, this process leads to condensation of water vapor. An example of a cloud that forms following this process is cumulus. Other clouds like stratus are formed when the wind is blown towards a mountain terrain, also called the windward side. The other side is called the leeward side, where the wind is blown away. The wind in the windward side of the air is forced to rise in the atmosphere. Again as the air rises, it cools, forming clouds.
Clouds can also be formed when the air in places where the pressure is low rises like stratus. Again, here warm air rises because when winds meet, the pressure is low, and eventually, air rises. Also, clouds are formed when air masses collide near the earth’s surface in the weather front. Consequently, the air rises to the atmosphere. To illustrate, in a warm-weather front, warm air rises above cold air, when the warm air goes up, it forms clouds like cirrus. The warm waterfronts are the ones that create the clouds that bring rain.
In cold waterfronts, the wet air forms a heavy mass of cold air, and the cold air mass propels warm air up. Clouds formed at cold waterfronts are cumulous. Moreover, the clouds also bring rain accompanied by thunderstorms. From the processes above, it is clear that in all the different types of clouds, their formation is a result of warm air rising to the atmosphere. Clouds are significant to humanity because, first, they help to balance the earth’s energy. Again, clouds are responsible for the behavior of the climate. Most importantly, they control the temperatures in the earth by acting as heat barriers. They prevent the sun from overheating the earth.