Humidity - Concept
Humidity is a measurement of the amount of water vapour present in the air,
regardless of temperature.
It's measured in gallons of water per cubic metre of air (g/m3).
At different times of the day, it varies drastically from place to place.
Humidity Capacity refers to the greatest quantity of moisture that the air can
contain at a given temperature.
Types of Humidity
Humidity is classified into three types namely
1. Absolute Humidity
2. Relative Humidity
3. Specific Humidity
Absolute Humidity
Absolute humidity represents the weight of the actual amount of water
vapour contained in a unit volume of air.
It is measured in grams per cubic metre.
Absolute humidity varies from location to place on the earth's surface.
As volume changes as an air mass ascends or descends, the absolute humidity
varies with contraction or expansion of air, it is less commonly utilized by
meteorologists.
The numerators and denominators of a unit of measurement differ significantly,
making it unsuitable for mathematical manipulation.
Relative Humidity
The ratio between the entire capacity of the air to contain moisture at a
particular temperature and the actual amount of moisture carried by it is known
as relative humidity.
It's measured in percentages.
The relative humidity drops as the temperature rises.
Over the oceans, relative humidity is higher, whereas, over the continental, it is
lower.
Dew point temperature is the temperature at which relative humidity reaches
100% and the air is said to be saturated.
In other terms, the dew point temperature is the temperature at which moisture
condensation begins when air is cooled. The saturation temperature of water
vapour at its partial pressure is the same as this temperature.
Specific Humidity
Specific humidity is measured by the weight of water vapour per unit weight
of air.
The specific humidity is unaffected by changes in pressure or temperature
because it is measured in weight units (typically grammes per kilogramme).
Specific Humidity is a constant, whereas Absolute and Relative Humidity are
variable.
Dew Point
At a certain temperature, the air is considered to be at a dew point when it
contains moisture to its full capacity, i.e. when the air is saturated to 100
percent, or when the relative humidity is 100 %.
It means that at that point, the air at that temperature is incapable of holding
any extra moisture.
Dew point is the temperature at which a given sample of air becomes saturated.
Vapour condenses when the air temperature falls below the dew point
temperature.
When the dew point exceeds 0 degrees, the vapour condenses into a liquid
droplet.
When the dew point falls below zero degrees, the vapour condenses into ice
crystals.
Condensation occurs in free air when microscopic particles known as
hygroscopic condensation nuclei cool.
Due to their ability to absorb water, dust, smoke, and sea salt are particularly
suitable nuclei.
Dew Point
Dew point temperature
The dew point temperature is the temperature at which humid air or gas
must be cooled at constant pressure to the point where condensation begins to
form.
Dew Point Temperature
Significance of Humidity
Humidity has a huge impact on human health because it affects our thermal
comfort.
Humidity can store a lot of energy and then release it when it converts to a
liquid state, like rain.
Humidity in the air stabilises our climate and avoids severe temperature swings
due to its qualities.
Conclusion
Humidity thus impacts almost the majority of observable weather phenomena starting
from clouds through the fog, rain to storms and finally to such dramatic weather
phenomena as hurricanes. It is not even possible to forecast the weather exactly
without comprehensive knowledge of humidity in all layers of the atmosphere. Thus
humidity is the most important factor which has a huge impact on climatology.