Clouds

When you look up at the sky, you see clouds drifting like pure white cotton. But are these clouds actually cotton? No! Clouds are special atmospheric phenomena composed of water droplets and ice crystals.

🔍 How Do Clouds Form?

It all begins with air! As air warms, it rises upward. This air carries water vapor. As it rises, the air cools, causing the water vapor to condense into tiny droplets and form clouds. This process is called condensation.

But water vapor alone is not enough. There must be tiny particles in the air such as dust, pollen, or salt crystals. Water vapor clings to these condensation nuclei to form droplets.

📏 How High Are Clouds?

High Clouds

They are found highest in the sky and are typically composed of ice crystals.

Altitude: 5,000–18,000 meters!

Mid-Level Clouds

They are neither very high nor close to the ground. They can contain both water droplets and ice crystals. Altitude: 2,000–8,000 meters.

Low Clouds

These are the clouds closest to the ground and usually bring rain or drizzle. Altitude: 0–2,000 meters.

☁️ What Shapes Do Clouds Take?

🧊 High Clouds:

• Cirrus (Ci): Thin, thread-like clouds made of white ice crystals.
• Cirrocumulus (Cc): Small white patches resembling grains of sand.
• Cirrostratus (Cs): Transparent clouds that can form halos around the sun.

🌥 Mid-Level Clouds:

• Altocumulus (Ac): Patchy, rounded clouds with white and gray shading.
• Altostratus (As): Grayish layers that make the sun appear as if seen through frosted glass.
• Nimbostratus (Ns): Thick, dark gray layers that produce rain or snow.

☁️ Low Clouds:

• Stratus (St): Flat, gray clouds that may bring drizzle.
• Stratocumulus (Sc): Patchy clouds in a mosaic pattern, a mix of gray and white.
• Cumulus (Cu): White, puffy clouds rising like cauliflower.
• Cumulonimbus (Cb): Massive tower-like dark clouds that bring lightning, thunder, and heavy downpours.

🌧 Why Are Some Clouds Dark?

Normally, clouds appear white because the particles inside them scatter sunlight equally in all directions. But when a cloud becomes very thick, sunlight cannot reach its lower part. As a result, the bottom remains in shadow and appears gray, sometimes even black. These clouds usually bring rain.