Wind is the movement of air – Fact Check

Wind is simply air in motion. Usually in meteorology, when we are talking about the wind it is the horizontal speed and direction we are concerned about. For example, if you hear a report of a west wind at 15 mph (24 km/h) that means the horizontal winds will be coming FROM the west at that speed. ,

At its core, wind is simply air in motion. It travels between areas of differing atmospheric pressure, driven by the natural tendency of air to move from high-pressure zones to low-pressure ones.

Anon,. 1998. "There`s more to wind than just the movement of air." Australia.

Given a steep lapse rate caused by cool air aloft over a hot surface, little horizontal air movement, few or no clouds, and the noonday sun heating flat arid soil surfaces to high temperatures, the air in contact with the ground becomes super-heated and highly unstable.

You might think that the warm air would lead to a higher pressure area, but actually the opposite is true. Because warm air rises, it leaves behind an area of low pressure behind it. ... Now we’re getting to the part where wind happens. Gases move from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas.

Wind is the movement of air relative to the Earth’s surface. As with all moving things, it is caused by a force acting on it. Force is a pull or push that changes the resting state, motion, or direction of an object.

An air mass may be large enough to cover an entire continent while a small air mass might only cover a single building. An air mass can be described by properties such as its density, temperature, pressure, and movement. Winds are currents of air that move across the earth’s surface and develop ...

These global wind systems, in turn, drive the oceans’ surface currents. To understand how global winds form and drive the major ocean currents, you need to know that wind is the basically the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure.

There is still air everywhere, but the air molecules are more widely spaced in some areas and more tightly packed in others. The places with more air molecules have higher pressure. The areas with fewer air molecules have lower pressure. Air whooshes into the area with lower pressure. That’s wind.