Precipitação

Precipitação is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds. This includes rain, snow, sleet, and hail. The process begins with the evaporation of water from the Earth's surface, which then rises into the atmosphere as water vapor. As this vapor ascends, it cools and condenses around tiny particles in the air, such as dust or salt, forming clouds. When these water droplets or ice crystals within the clouds grow large enough, gravity overcomes the atmospheric updrafts, and they fall to the Earth as precipitation.

The type of precipitation that reaches the ground depends largely on the temperature profile of the atmosphere. If the temperature from the cloud to the ground is above freezing, precipitation will typically be rain. If temperatures are below freezing throughout, it will fall as snow. Sleet forms when snowflakes melt as they fall through a warm layer of air and then refreeze into ice pellets as they pass through a subsequent layer of freezing air. Hail is formed within cumulonimbus clouds through a process of repeated updrafts and downdrafts that cause ice pellets to accumulate layers of ice before falling. Precipitation is a crucial component of the Earth's water cycle, replenishing freshwater sources essential for life and various ecosystems.