Geography · Weather every day
Rain from clouds
Sun → water rises → cloud → rain.
Where does rain come from?
Rain comes from clouds up in the sky. But how does water get up there? Let's find out! The Sun helps water travel up into the sky. Then it falls back down as rain. It happens every single day all around the world.
The Sun warms the water
The Sun shines down and warms puddles and rivers. The warm water turns into tiny bits called water vapour. You cannot see water vapour in the air. The water vapour floats up into the sky. The Sun is like a giant heater!
Water vapour makes clouds
High up in the sky the air is cold. The water vapour cools down and sticks together. Lots of tiny water drops join up together. This makes a cloud! Clouds look white and fluffy from below.
Rain falls from clouds
The water drops in the cloud get bigger. They stick together and become heavy. When they are too heavy they fall down. That is rain! The rain falls back to the ground. Then the Sun can warm it again.
The water cycle goes round and round
Sun warms water, water rises, cloud forms, rain falls. Then it happens all over again! We call this the water cycle. Water keeps going round and round. Well done for learning about rain!
Worked examples
1. Put these in order: cloud forms, Sun warms water, rain falls.
- First the Sun warms the water.
- Then water rises and a cloud forms.
- Last the rain falls from the cloud.
2. Why does water go up into the sky?
- The Sun shines and warms the water.
- Warm water turns into water vapour.
- Water vapour is very light and floats up.
3. What makes rain fall down from a cloud?
- Water drops in the cloud join together.
- They get bigger and heavier.
- Heavy drops fall down as rain.
Try it yourself
What happens first in making rain?
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