What Causes a Mirage to Appear?

A mirage makes the road look wet because hot air near the ground bends light, tricking your eyes. Imagine you’re walking on a sunny day, the road feels like it’s shimmering with water, but it's just sunlight playing tricks on you.

Hot air is less dense than cool air, so it makes light bend as it travels from the sky to your eyes. This bending of light is called refraction, and that’s why the road seems wet, like there's water reflecting the sky above.