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Where does the rain come from? Drops at first are not shaped like drops at all
The obvious answer to the question of where rain comes from is: from the clouds. However, for liquid water to start falling from the sky, several conditions must be met.
Earth is a very wet planet. Most of us living on the continents rarely realize that H2O not only forms the oceans and seas, but also circulates in the soil under our feet and in the clouds overhead. And also in the organisms of plants and animals, not excluding ourselves. It is estimated that as much as 60 percent of the human body is water.
Of course, the most water is in the oceans. They cover 71 percent of the Earth’s surface and contain as much as 96.5 percent of all the Earth’s water. This is salty water. The fresh water we drink every day, which is essential for agricultural development, is only a fraction of all the water that exists on the planet.
How much of it is there? Scientists have counted that if all of Earth’s water were enclosed in a sphere, it would have a volume of 1.386 million cubic kilometers. In turn, its diameter would be 1,385 kilometers. However, if only fresh water flowing in rivers and forming ponds and lakes were taken, the sphere would shrink dramatically. It would have a volume of 93,000 cubic kilometers. And its diameter would be only 56 km.
