PRECIPITATION AND RELATED PHENOMENA

Contents

1. Introduction 197

2. Water vapour 197

2.1. Importance of Water Vapour 197

3. The Water Cycle 197

4. Humidity 198

4.1. Absolute Humidity 198

4.2. Specific Humidity 198

4.3. Relative Humidity 198

4.3.1. Significance of Relative Humidity 199

4.3.2. The Horizontal Distribution of Relative Humidity 199

5. Evaporation 199

6. Condensation 200

6.1. Latent Heat 200

6.2. Saturated Air 200

6.3. Hygroscopic Nuclei 200

6.4. Dew point 200

7. Dew 200

8. Frost 201

9. Fog 201

9.1. Impact of Fog 201

10. Mist 202

11. Smog 202

12. Haze 203

13. Atmospheric Brown Cloud (ABC)/Asian Brown Cloud 203

14. Clouds 203

15. Types of Clouds 204

15.1. Cirrus (Curl of Hair) Clouds 204

15.2. Cumulus (Heap) Clouds 204

15.3. Stratus (Layer) Clouds 204

16. International Classification of Clouds 205

17. Precipitation 206

18. Necessary Conditions for RAINFALL 207

19. Types of Rainfall 207

19.1. Convectional Rainfall 207

19.2. Orographic Rain 208

19.3. Cyclonic or Frontal Rainfall 208

20. Distribution of Precipitation 209

20.1. Seasonal Distribution of Rainfall 210

21. Prelims Questions 211