Rain and Monsoons

Rain and Monsoons

    Water evaporates from the surface of the Earth and fises upwards into the atmosphere in the form of water vapour which gets condensed back into drops of water at higher altitudes. These droplets of water are very light and clusters of them form clouds, as these droplets merge with each other to form larger drops, they become heavy and fall back to the Earth as rain.

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Fog

    Clouds are blown over the sufrace to the Earth by winds and they result in three types of rain, i.e., Orographic rain, Convectional rain and Cyclonic rain. As winds below over mountains, the water vapour condenses to form clouds and rainfall occurs on the windward slopes of the mountains. As the air moves to other side of the mountain, it descends and comes in contact with warmer air thus making the other side of the mountain a 'rain shadow region'.

When water evaporates from a certain area and falls back after condensation, it causes convectional rain. On the other hand cyclonic rain occurs when warm air rises above a block of cold air, thus causing condensation resulting in rain. Rain is largely influenced by the movement of wind and there are certain winds which change their direction with the seasons. These winds are called the 'Monsoons'. In South Asia these winds are more prevalent and they tend to blow from the sea towards winters these winds blow from th eland towards the sea. In India these winds come from the Indian Ocean and result in heavy rain.
On occasions the heavy rain does result in extensive damage but at the same time it replenishes most of the water in lakes and reservoirs which helps in sustaining vegetation, crops and life through the year. Regular rainfall maintains a cycle of water which sustains vegetation and life. It prevents the rivers from drying up and maintains a regular supply of water for our use.