why is there generally less wind at night time than day time?

Question

why is there generally less wind at night time than day time?

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

During daytime the sun warms up the Earth’s surface, and the surface in turn warms up the layer of air next to it. This warm air is lighter than the colder air above it, so it rises up, displacing the cold air and forcing it to move to settle down somewhere else. This movement of air makes wind. During nighttime everything’s reversed – there’s warmer air from daytime above and colder air in contact with the rapidly cooling Earth’s surface below. This setup doesn’t produce any air movements, since colder air is heavier than warm air and so it stays put.