Wind is caused by the sun’s uneven heating of the earth’s surface. Because the earth’s surface is made up of different types of land and water, the earth absorbs the sun’s heat at different rates. One example of this uneven heating is the daily wind cycle.
During the day, the air above the land heats up faster than the air above the water. Warm air above land expands and rises, and heavier, cooler air rushes in to take its place, creating wind. The winds are reversed at night because the air cools more rapidly over land than water.
In the same way, the atmospheric winds that circle the Earth are created because the land near the Earth’s equator is hotter than the land near the North Pole and the South Pole.
Wind is also the main reason waves are formed. Wind drags on the water’s surface, which creates energy and friction. The stronger the wind is, the bigger and stronger the waves will be; that is why storms create such big waves.
