How does the water cycle work?

The water cycle is the continuous journey of water around the planet, powered by the Sun. Heat causes water to evaporate from oceans, lakes and rivers into water vapour, and plants add more through transpiration. As this vapour rises and cools, it condenses into tiny droplets that form clouds. When the droplets grow heavy enough, they fall as precipitation — rain, snow or hail. Some of this water soaks into the ground to replenish aquifers, while the rest flows through rivers back to the sea, where the cycle begins again. This endless recycling means the water you drink today may have once been part of an ancient ocean or even a dinosaurs body.