Orographic cap cloud

Orographic (relief) rainfall involves forced ascent of moist air over a topographic barrier, adiabatic cooling, condensation at the dew point, and formation of lenticular or cap clouds that sit persistently over mountain peaks and volcanic summits as visible markers of orographic lifting. The phenomenon produces a windward-leeward (rain shadow) asymmetry, critical to understanding rainfall distribution across India's Western Ghats, Himalayas, and Meghalaya. Distinct from convective thunderstorm and frontal cloud systems, which involve different lifting mechanisms.