What is it that causes fog/mist? What is it made out of?

Answer 1

Fog is the suspension of very small water droplets in the air, generally reducing the visibility at the Earth's surface to less than 1km. (WMO)

Mist is the suspension in the air of microscopic water droplets or wet hydrgroscopic particles, reducing the visibility at the Earth's surface. (WMO)

Essentially, mist does not reduce the visibility to the same extent that fog does.

Fog and mist can be formed in many ways. The most common form is via radiational cooling (the cooling of the Earth's surface and nearby air at night). Light winds, clear skies, low level moisture, an inversion just above the surface and smoke, dust or other condensation nuclei all help for this process.

Steam fog is another type. An example of this is when cold air moves over warm lakes.

Advection fog is when moist air moves over a colder surface. This type of fog is prevalent where warm and cold ocean currents flow close to each other. This also happens often when moist air flows up a long and gentle mountain slope

Of course cloud from the plains may be fog for a mountain top.

Answer 2

fog is a cloud in contact with the ground. Fog differs from other clouds only in that fog touches the surface of the Earth. The same cloud that is not fog on lower ground may be fog where it contacts higher ground such as hilltops or mountain ridges. Fog is distinct from mist only in its density. Fog is defined as cloud which reduces visibility to less than 1 km, whereas mist is that which reduces visibility to less than 2 km.

The foggiest place in the world is the Grand Banks off the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Fog is frequent here as the Grand Banks is the meeting place of the cold Labrador Current from the north and the much warmer Gulf Stream from the south. The foggiest land areas in the world are Point Reyes, California and Argentia, Newfoundland, both with over 200 foggy days a year.

Answer 3

Fog is made up of a large amount of tiny suspended water droplets near the ground. In Hong Kong, fog is common in springtime and may greatly affect shipping and aviation.

Mist is similar to fog except it may appear more ragged and forms on rainy days with the air saturated due to the amount of moisture. Mist is more common in mountainous and forest regions.

Answer 4

Contrary to popular belief Mist/Fog is actally made of trillions of tiny people. Somewhat like dwarves but loads smaller, fog is actually an army of little fellas. They are so small and light that they are not affected by gravity like you or I and float about in the air. The best way to eliminate them, and lets face it, nobody likes fog, is to wield a machete and attack the fog, as you would cut a path through the thick undergrowth of the amazon rainforest. Good luck

Answer 5

Fog or mist is water droplets condensed out of saturated moist air at ground level when it is cooled. The same mechanism as for clouds.

Answer 6

mist and fog are caused by water vapors in the air that settle down later on in the day depending on the amount

Answer 7

Fog- is nothing more than a cloud on the ground. Mist is just a very THICK fog.

Answer 8

mist and fog form when still warm air meets cold moving air

it is made from water vapors the next time you are in fog you will see the water vapors around you and it will feel heavy on your face...

Answer 9

Fog and mist are composed of condensed water droplets.

They are not really composed of water vapor. Water vapor is an invisible gas. It is from water vapor that the water droplets condense, forming visible fog or clouds.

Answer 10

Fog and mist are made out of water vapour, as are clouds. They form when warm, moist air hits colder land. In effect, mist is simply cloud which has formed at, or just, above ground level.