How Rain is Formed?

Simple Science Experiments

Kids love rain and even the elders enjoy the rain. Rain is a beautiful thing provided by nature! Rain cools the warmest of climates and instantly reduces the hot temperature! Rain is essential for the growth of crops.

Have you ever wondered what makes the rain?

So, what is rain?

Rain is nothing but droplets of water from the air! The water becomes the ground becomes vapor in the air and when blown by the wind, it again becomes water and falls to the ground as rain.

It is similar to boiling water. If you have not seen it yet, check with your mother and do this simple science experiment. Heat some water in a vessel. As the water boils in the vessel, the heat converts the water into hot water vapour in the form of gas. Conversion of water into water vapour is known as evaporation. When you close the boiling vessel with a lid, the vapour is stopped by the lid and becomes the droplets of water. We call it condensation. Condensation occurs when the water vapour converts to liquid when in contact with any surface.

Did you know; the warm air contains more water vapour than the cool breeze!

Water from various sources such as lakes and oceans becomes water vapour because of the hot sun. The water vapour rises in the air because of evaporation and is retained in the same form but invisible until condensation occurs. Since the vapour cannot rise more than a certain height, it remains in the same height above sea level.

When the wind blows, whether it is warm or cold, it carries the droplets of water and raises it. In the open atmosphere in the sky, huge amount of water vapour formed by evaporation get together to form clouds. Since the air cannot hold these enormous tiny droplets of water, it transforms the droplets into foggy clouds! Clouds are nothing but the water droplets accumulated together. When this cloud touches the cold surface such as a mountain or the cold air itself when it rises up, condensation occurs. Therefore, the cloud becomes tiny water droplets and falls down. This tiny water droplets falling down from the sky is what we call rain.

Some facts about rain:

• Rain has multiple facets. It can be a slight drizzle or heavy rainfall! Drizzling lasts for a long time, while heavy rain with thunder does not last long.
• The speed of the rainfall is influenced by the speed of the wind.
• Due to heavy rain, the water level rises rapidly, which causes flash floods!
• Periodic rainfall is essential for farmers to cultivate crops.
• Rainwater is the pure form for water and it has a bland taste!
• Rain takes the form of water where it lands. For example, it becomes sea, river, pond, lake, and even garbage water!

For more and adequate rain, we need to grow more trees! Growing more trees increases rainfall!