núvol

Núvol is the Catalan term for a visible mass of liquid droplets or ice crystals suspended in Earth’s atmosphere. Clouds form when air containing water vapor rises or cools adiabatically, reaching saturation and allowing condensation onto aerosols. They vary in altitude, composition, and morphology and are a key element of weather and climate.

Clouds are commonly grouped by altitude into three general layers and by their shapes. Low clouds up to about 2,000 meters include stratus and cumulus. Mid-altitude clouds occur roughly 2,000–6,000 meters, such as altocumulus and altostratus. High clouds above 6,000 meters include cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus, often composed of ice crystals. Some clouds, like cumulonimbus, exhibit significant vertical development and can bring heavy rain and thunderstorms.

Fog is a cloud that forms near the ground, reducing visibility and affecting local conditions. Clouds are central to weather prediction and climate studies because they influence the Earth’s radiation balance: they reflect some sunlight, cooling the surface, while trapping infrared radiation, which can have a warming effect. The net impact depends on cloud type, altitude, thickness, and coverage.

The Catalan word núvol derives from Latin nubes and is cognate with Spanish nube and French nuage, reflecting shared Romance-language roots for the concept of a planetary cloud.

Beyond meteorology, the term is used in everyday language and, in contemporary contexts, appears in discussions of cloud-based computing, where “núvol” denotes cloud technology in general.