Air pressure, also known as atmospheric pressure, refers to the weight of the Earth's atmosphere pressing down on everything

at the surface. The average air pressure at sea levelis 101.325 kPa (1013.25 millibar), or 14.696 lbs/sq2 (1.0333 kg/cm2). Basically, this means hundreds of pounds of pressure are pressing at you from all sides and at all times. We are able to survive this pressure because our bodies (and all life) evolved in an environment where it is omnipresent. If the pressure is increased or decreased too much, we perish. With pressure, as with a lot of things, it's all relative. Air pressure is why high-pressuremachinery, such as hydraulics, require high structural integrity to contain the material pressure has a tendency to equalize. It is also partially responsible for the phrase "nature abhors a vacuum," meaning a vacuum is hard to sustain under the pressure of Earth's atmosphere. Atmospheric pressure varies slightly over the Earth's surface, and variations in pressure are responsible for the weather that we are so familiar with. Low pressure are associated with storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Sometimes the air pressure at sea level can drop as low as 870 millibars, 85% of average air pressure. This only happens during the most severe storms.Pressure variations on the Earth surface cause wind: high pressure areas have a tendency to seek out low pressure areas, causing gusts.