How are clouds formed?

When damp air rises towards colder layers of air, it cools.  

The water in the air condenses.  

This means that the water transforms from a gas to a solid state.  

Tiny, tiny water droplets and ice crystals form  

and we see a cloud.  

 

When the air sinks again, it is warmed by the sun’s rays  

or it mixes with drier air, and the cloud dissipates.  

The water returns to an invisible gas.