Explained for children: How are clouds formed?
In winter they make for cloudy days and in summer they rob us of the sunshine: clouds. But how does this natural phenomenon actually arise? And even more interesting, how do we explain to our children how clouds are formed? We’ll give you an answer here.
Sheep, veils, or rain clouds – the seemingly weightless, cotton-like clouds appear very differently in the sky. They are often among our daily companions far above our heads. But how do they actually get there? And how are clouds formed? And more importantly, how do I explain this to my kids? Here’s a foolproof answer.
How are clouds formed?
It all starts with the help of the sun: the sun’s rays heat the streets, meadows, house roofs and the surface of the water. This warming of the water surface turns the liquid water into gaseous water. Gaseous means that the water evaporates. Evaporation, on the other hand, is a physical process in which the state of aggregation, i.e. the property of a body, changes. Accordingly, the water evaporates by changing from liquid to gaseous. This process happens at all times, no matter what the temperature.
The temperature of the air also plays a decisive role in this evaporation: Warm air is lighter than cold air and thus rises upwards. However, this warm air continues to cool on the way up – it condenses.
Countless small drops in the air
This creates excess water, which collects in the form of droplets. These small and very light droplets cling to dust and soot particles suspended in the air – eventually forming a cloud. In summary, this means: Clouds form when evaporated water (gaseous) rises to the top and is then cooled by the cold air, creating droplets that form a cloud.
How high do clouds float?
There are both low and very high clouds. Low clouds can reach our earth – that is then fog. We encounter such low clouds mainly in the mountains. Very high clouds, on the other hand, can hover up to 13 km above the earth.
Not every cloud is a rain cloud
However, not every cloud we see in the sky is a rain cloud. Some clouds don’t rain out at all. This only happens when larger drops collect due to air circulation, i.e. due to the strong movement of the air, and are finally heavy enough to fall down as rain.
In wintry temperatures, i.e. below zero degrees, the droplets of the cloud freeze to form ice crystals and fall down as snowflakes. Storm clouds can also drop hailstones on the ground.