• Question: What causes wind?

    Asked by lisaloo to Claire, Matt, Rob, Sam on 26 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Sam Geen

      Sam Geen answered on 26 Jun 2013:


      Wind is the motion of gas in the atmosphere. It can happen for various reasons. The rotation of the Earth can help make cyclonic winds, which get the air moving in a vortex. Or temperature and pressure differences can cause air to be sucked into low pressure regions, which makes a wind.

    • Photo: Matthew Pankhurst

      Matthew Pankhurst answered on 26 Jun 2013:


      Wind is the movement of air, and air moves around because some of it is warmer than other parts. A warm package of air will rise, and a cold package of air will sink. Warm air made in the hot parts of the earth, like in deserts, and cold aid in the cold parts, like the ice caps. They are always mixing and sorting themselves out, which is what causes the wind. Moisture in the air is also really important, and that’s why when it’s windy, often it’s rainy, because the air cools down and can’t hold the water anymore – and it falls as droplets.
      The other type of wind is caused by bacteria in your digestive system breaking down food and releasing gas as a by-product….!

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