The Four Main Stages of the Water Cycle

🔄 The Four Main Stages of the Water Cycle

1. Evaporation

The sun heats water on the surface of oceans, lakes, rivers, and puddles. This energy causes water molecules to gain enough kinetic energy to escape from the liquid surface and become water vapour — an invisible gas. Evaporation is the main route by which water enters the atmosphere. The warmer the temperature, the faster evaporation occurs.

2. Transpiration

Plants also release water vapour into the atmosphere through a process called transpiration. Water is absorbed from the soil through the plant's roots, travels up the stem, and exits through tiny pores called stomata on the underside of leaves. This process is continuous during the day and adds a significant amount of water vapour to the air, especially in forests. Together, evaporation and transpiration from land are sometimes referred to as evapotranspiration.

3. Condensation

As warm, moist air rises, it cools down at higher altitudes. When water vapour cools sufficiently, it condenses — changing back from a gas into tiny liquid water droplets. These droplets collect around tiny dust particles in the air and group together to form clouds. Condensation is the reverse of evaporation.

4. Precipitation

When water droplets in clouds become large and heavy enough, they fall back to Earth as precipitation — this includes rain, snow, sleet, or hail depending on temperature. Precipitation is how water returns from the atmosphere to the land and oceans, completing the cycle.