What Makes the Wind Blow?
What Makes the Wind Blow? Wind is air in motion. Wind is caused mainly by the uneven heating of the air around the earth by the sun. Since the earth’s surface is made of various land and water formations, it absorbs the sun’s radiation unevenly.
As the sun warms the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere warms too. Some parts of the Earth receive direct rays from the sun all year and are always warm. Other places receive indirect rays, so the climate is colder.
When air is heated, it becomes lighter, and the air pressure becomes lower. As the warm air rises, cooler, heavier air from a nearby high-pressure area rushes in to take its place. We feel this movement of air as wind.
Local winds are caused by the local differences in heat and air pressure. Winds that blow over large areas are caused by worldwide variations in temperature and air pressure. These winds move storms from one place in the world to another.