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What causes high and low pressures?

High and low (air) pressures are caused by the motion of air. When air gets warm, its density decreases and it rises up. This causes a region of low air pressure near the surface of the earth. In contrast, when air get colder, its density increases and it starts settling towards the surface. This results in a region of high pressure near the surface.


In areas of low pressure, caused by ascending warm air, wind rushes in from the vicinity. This causes a counterclockwise (or anticlockwise) motion of wind in the Northern hemisphere. The rising warm winds generally result in precipitation and hence low pressure systems are associated with unsettled weather.


In comparison, winds rushes out of high pressure regions and we observe clockwise wind flow in such regions in the Northern hemisphere. High pressure regions generally have calmer weather.


Hope this helps. 

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