WHAT IS HUMIDITY?

THE AMOUNT OF WATER VAPOR IN THE AIR. IF

THERE IS A LOT OF WATER VAPOR IN THE AIR,
THE HUMIDITY WILL BE HIGH. THE HIGHER THE
HUMIDITY, THE WETTER IT FEELS OUTSIDE.
ABSOLUTE HUMIDITY

• THE EXACT MEASUREMENT OF HOW

MUCH WATER VAPOR IS IN THE AIR
• VERY SIMILAR TO DENSITY
RELATIVE HUMIDITY

• RELATIVE HUMIDITY IS A MEASURE OF HOW CLOSE TO

SATURATION THE AIR IS WITH WATER VAPOR.
• AT 100% RELATIVE HUMIDITY, THE AIR IS
SATURATED.
• A RELATIVE HUMIDITY OF 0% WOULD INDICATE THAT
NO WATER VAPOR IS PRESENT.
 DEWPOINT
• TELLS US HOW
MUCH MOISTURE,
SPECIFICALLY WATER
VAPOR, IS IN THE AIR.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
 HUMID TROPIC
• LOCATED CLOSE TO THE EQUATOR.
• LIES IN BETWEEN TROPIC OF CANCER AND TROPIC OF
CAPRICORN
• RECEIVES SUN RAYS ALL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
• THE CLIMATE OF TROPICAL REGION IS HOT AND
HUMID
• INTERTROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE(ITCZ) EXISTS IN
THIS REGION
• ITCZ IS A LOW PRESSURE BELT EXISTS AT THE EQUATOR
• ANNUAL RAINFALL IN THE TROPICAL REGION IS HIGH
• ANNUAL RANGE IF TEMPERATURE IS VERY LOW
 HUMID SUBTROPICAL
• SUBTROPICAL REGION LIES BETWEEN 20 AND 40 DEGREES
N AND S OF THE EQUATOR.
• HUMID=COASTAL REGION
• HUMID SUBTROPICAL CLIMATE IS FOUND AT THE
SOUTHERNMOST PORTION OF THE TEMPERATE ZONE
• REGIONS ARE LOCATED AT THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE
CONTINENTS
• MARITIME TROPICAL AIR MASSES (WARM CURRENTS)
ORIGINATE FROM EASTERN SIDE OF CONTINENTS
• THIS REGIONS HAVE HOT HUMID SUMMERS AND MILD
WINTERS
• IN SUMMER TEMPERATURE GOES UP TO 26°C AND
DURING WINTER IT GOES UP TO 4°C TO 10°C
• SE COAST OF UNITED STATES, CHINA AND AUSTRALIA
GETS INTENSE HURRICANE AND STORM
TIME VARIATION
Relative Humidity – is the
amount of water vapor
present in air expressed as a
percentage of the amount
needed for saturation at the
same temperature.
The reason is temperature. Warmer
temperatures can hold more
moisture than colder
temperatures. Thus. it is
temperature that makes all the
difference; cold winter air, even
when saturated, contains far less
moisture than warm summer air.
 Relative humidity is usually high at
midnight and in the early morning,
drops rapidly, after the sun rises,
until it is lowest just after midday. It
then increases again to midnight,
rapidly in the late afternoon and
early evening and levels off around
midnight.
 Temperature is usually low at
midnight, decreasing in the early
hours of the morning, and then
increasing rapidly until just after
midday. It then decreases during
the night.
 No. Night temperatures fell slightly
as the week progressed.
The temperature was lower than
usual on the night and early morning
of the 29th.
Relative humidity decreased slightly
as the week progressed. There is a
daily cycle. The relative humidity
ranges from 63 to 95% during this
week.
 the amount of water vapor present in the
air.
 Higher humidity reduces the effectiveness
of sweating in cooling the body by
reducing the rate of evaporation of
moisture from the skin.
 The amount of water vapor that is needed
to achieve saturation increases as the
temperature increases.
 Absolute Humidity
 Relative Humidity
 Specific Humidity
This term is defined as the mass of water vapor
in a certain volume. If ideal gas behavior is
assumed the absolute humidity can be
calculated using:

 Expressed in either grams per cubic meter or

grams per kilogram
 Themaximum absolute humidity of WARM AIR at
30°C/86°F is approximately 30g of water vapor -
30g/m3

 Themaximum absolute humidity of COLD AIR at

0°C/32°F is approximately 5g of water vapor –
5g/m3

 Warmer air holds more water, whereas colder air

holds less water.
ABSOLUTE
HUMIDITY
Relative humidity is the amount of water vapor
that is in the air. It is a percentage of how
much moisture the air could possibly hold.
Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the
water vapor pressure to the saturation water
vapor pressure at the gas temperature:
This term is used as a ratio of the amount of
water vapor in the air to the amount of dry air
in the area.

 It is expressed in grams of water vapor per

kilogram in the air.
HIGHEST in equatorial
zones

LOWEST near poles

Refers to the ratio of the mass of water vapor
to the mass of dry air in the sample.
 an instrument used for measuring the
amount of humidity and water vapor in the
atmosphere, in soil, or in confined spaces.
 usually rely on measurements of some other
quantity such as temperature, pressure, mass
or a mechanical or electrical change in a
substance as moisture is absorbed. By
calibration and calculation, these measured
quantities can lead to a measurement of
humidity.
 Due to humidity, several materials experience
a change in physical, chemical and electrical
properties. This property is used in
transducer that are designed and calibrated
to read relative humidity directly.
Classical Hydrometers: Modern Hygrometers:

1. Metal-paper coil type 1. Capacitive

2. Hair tension 2. Resistive
hygrometer 3. Thermal
3. Pyschrometer (wet and 4. Gravimetric
dry bulb hygrometer ) :
Sling pyschrometer
4. Chilled mirror dew
point hygrometer
 The metal-paper coil hygrometer is useful for
giving a dial indication of humidity changes.
It appears most often in inexpensive devices,
and its accuracy is limited, with variations of
10% or more.
 In these devices, water vapor is absorbed by a
salt-impregnated paper strip attached to a
metal coil, causing the coil to change shape
and gives an indication on a dial.
 These devices use a human or animal hair
under tension. The hair is hygroscopic
(tending toward retaining moisture); its
length changes with humidity, and the length
change may be magnified by a mechanism
and indicated on a dial or scale.
 It consists of two thermometers, one that is
dry and one that is kept moist with distilled
water on a sock or wick.
 A sling psychrometer, which uses
thermometers attached to a handle or length
of rope and spun in the air for about one
minute, is sometimes used for field
measurements, but is being replaced by more
convenient electronic sensors.
 In capacitive hygrometers, the effect of
humidity on the dielectric constant of
a polymer or metal oxide material is
measured. With calibration, these sensors
have an accuracy of ±2% RH in the range 5–
95% RH. Capacitive sensors are subject to
contamination, drift and aging effects, but
are suitable for many applications.
 In resistive hygrometers, the change
in electrical resistance of a material due to
humidity is measured. Typical materials
are salts and conductive polymers.
 In thermal hygrometers, the change
in thermal conductivity of air due to humidity
is measured. These sensors measure absolute
humidity rather than relative humidity.
 A Gravimetric hygrometer measures the mass
of an air sample compared to an equal
volume of dry air. This is considered the most
accurate primary method to determine the
moisture content of the air.