Wind: Its Types, Uses and Dangers

1What is wind?

Wind is moving air. The Sun heats the ground and the air unevenly. Warm air rises, and cooler air moves in to take its place. Air also moves from places where it presses hard (high pressure) to places where it presses less (low pressure). That movement is wind.

We cannot see wind, but we can see what it does: leaves shake, dust blows, smoke drifts. A windsock or a weather vane shows which way the wind is blowing.

2Types of wind

We name winds by how strong they are:

• A breeze is a gentle, pleasant wind.
• A gust is a short, sudden burst of fast wind.
• A gale is a very strong wind that breaks branches.
• A storm brings strong wind, often with heavy rain.
• A whirlwind is wind spinning round in a circle. A very violent one is a tornado.
• Hurricanes (also called cyclones or typhoons) are huge storms over warm seas, with winds faster than 120 km per hour.

Near Lake Kivu you can feel lake and land breezes: in the day the breeze blows from the cool lake onto the warm land; at night it blows the other way.

3Uses of air and wind

• We breathe air, and fires need it to burn.
• Wind dries clothes, beans, sorghum and coffee.
• Farmers winnow: they pour threshed beans or sorghum from a height and the wind blows the light husks away.
• Windmills and wind turbines use wind to pump water and make electricity.
• Wind pushes sailing boats and lifts kites.
• Wind carries pollen and seeds to new places, and cools us on hot days.
• Air is pumped into tyres and balls.

4Dangers of wind, and how to prevent them

During a storm, go indoors and stay away from windows.

Try it yourself

Try each one first, then tap Show answer to check.