Written by: Aaradhya Prasai - 28001, Grade VIII
Posted on: 29 January, 2024
We all probably wonder how the rain occurs? Why does it rain? Does rain have color? What is acid rain? What are droplets? How does snow occur? Why does it snow? How many types of rain are there? What is the condition of rain in the context of Nepal? What is the instrument used to measure rain? Why is rain important for us? Advantages and disadvantages of the rain? And many more questions in your head. Well, in this article I will be explaining briefly about the answers of these questions.
According to many sources rain is liquid precipitation. In simple words, it is the water falling from the sky. Raindrops fall in the ground when the clouds get filled with water droplets. There are a lot of water droplets which gather and bump into each other when they get filled in the clouds. There are some advantages of rainfall. It helps increase the growth in plants. It helps in farming by growing the crops and not letting it stay dry. As in summer it is very hot outside it gives people relief in summer time. Likewise, rain helps to moisture the air. Further,it contributes to the weather of earth and survival of all the plants and animals living. There are some disadvantages of rainfall. Excessive rainfall can damage the crops, similarly excessive rain can also produce bacterias which is harmful for the crops which we eat and will affect human life as well. Soil erosion which can be detrimental to the environment. It can cause trouble for the poor and the people who have homes near the riverside due to excessive rain can cause dams getting filled with more than enough water which can cause several natural disasters which will destroy the houses of people living near the river or lake side. Excessive rain can also ruin the plants from which the plants won't be able to do their life processes and since we get oxygen through plants with the process of photosynthesis and since plants don't do that process due to excessive rain we will not get enough oxygen which is harmful for our health and surrounding. Not just human life but also other organisms like animals don't get enough oxygen. Herbivorous animals need plants and since rain will destroy the plants the animals will suffer with hunger and it will affect the ecosystem, food chain, etc.
Now let's talk about how does it rain? We all have probably learned about the process of rain in science. In very simple way, there are 5 simple steps of raining and they are: Warm air rises, Air cools, Condensation, Clouds form and Rain
Process of condensation: Condensation is the process where the water vapour gets converted into liquid. Condensation is the reverse process of evaporation. There are 2 ways in which condensation can happen. One is where the air is cooled to its dew point (the temperature at which air is saturated with water vapour)or it becomes saturated with water vapour and can't hold water anymore and when warm air hits a cold surface it reaches to its dew point and starts dropping water.
Now talking about the instrument that is used to measure rainfall. The instrument which is used to measure rainfall is the rain gauge. The rain gauge is used by meteorologists to find the amount of rainfall in different areas. There are different types of rain gauge which are used to measure the rain fall. The types are: the standard rain gauge, tipping bucket gauge and weighing gauge.
The droplet of water on higher altitude turns into snow. Snow is the solid form of water that crystallizes in the atmosphere and falls to the Earth. Snow covers 23% of the earth surface as well. It snows the most in Aomori City in Japan. Talking about how snow is formed, it is formed by the tiny crystals in clouds which stick together and become a snowflake. As many crystals join together to form a snowflake they become heavy and fall in the ground which is called snow. Snow is formed when the temperature in the atmosphere is cold enough to allow small ice crystals to form around dirts that have been transported to the atmosphere by the wind.
In the context of Nepal, the rain varies according to the altitude. In the south area it is very rainy. Low mountains have a temperate climate whereas the peaks have cold climates. The summer monsoon of June to October brings rainfall in Nepal. Some parts of Nepal receive less rainfall whereas some receive high rainfall.
Now talking about acid rain, finally. Acid rain is when the pH value is between 4.4to4.5 or just less than 5. It is caused due to different pollution. As the human activities on earth create a lot of pollution it gets mixed up in the atmosphere and creates harmful gases which will mix up in the rain and cause acid rain. We won’t be familiar with that acid as we aren't used to it so we will feel hurt in our body due to that rain. To prevent acid rain we should make less pollution which can create harmful gases in the atmosphere. Human activities are the main cause for this so we should try our best to produce less air pollutants from industries, vehicles, etc.
In conclusion, rain has both advantages and disadvantages in our daily life. Excessive rain can cause harm whereas no rain can cause harm as well. We can’t live without rain but excessive rainfall can cause harm to us as well.
