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© Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Environment

A cloud is a visible aggregate of tiny water droplets and/or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere and can exist in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some clouds are accompanied by precipitation; rain, snow, hail or sleet.

All clouds form as a consequence of rising air. Sometimes air is forced to rise over mountains. More usually, warm air, being less dense, will rise above cold air. At fronts for example, warm air masses rise over cold air masses when they converge. At much smaller scales, columns of rising warm air may be generated by daytime heat from the Sun.

When air rises, it expands, causing a drop in temperature. As the temperature falls, the humidity (or water vapour content) of air increases towards 100%. Finally, after sufficient cooling, the air becomes saturated, and water vapour begins to condense out as tiny water droplets, forming cloud.

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