d e

Humidity kh a n
L o
nja
R u
i n
a ch
t S
a p
y C
B
Humidity
d e
h a n
k
• Humidity is the amount of water vapour
present in the atmosphere.
L o
ja
• It is expressed as grams/m3.

n
• Water vapour is always present in the air
to a greater or lesser extent.
R
• In atmosphere, water exists in three u
i n
forms: Solid(ice),liquid(water) and gas

ch
(water vapour).

a
• The capacity of dry air to hold water
S
t
vapour depends largely on temperature

p
and to some extent on pressure.
a
C
• Warmer the air, the more water vapour

y
it can hold.

B
Latent Heat
d e
h a n
• Latent heat describes the amount of
o k
L
energy in the form of heat that is

ja
required for a material to undergo a
change of state or phase.
u n
R
• Latent heat differs according to the state

n
of the substance.

ch i
• When ice changes to water, or water
absorbed.
S a
changes to water vapour, latent heat is

a p t
• When water vapour changes to liquid

C
water, or water changes to ice, latent

y
heat is released.

B
Change of State
d e
h a n
• Evaporation
o k
ja L
• Evaporation is the change of state from liquid to vapour. Latent heat is
absorbed.
u n
R
• Evaporation can occur at any temperature, even from ice.
n
ch i
• For a particular temperature there is a particular amount of water per

a
unit volume that the air can hold.

t S
• When this maximum is reached, evaporation will cease/stop.

a p
y C
B
Change of State
d e
h a n
• Condensation
o k
L
• Condensation is the change of state from vapour to liquid. Latent heat
ja
n
is released.
u
• If the water vapour is returned to a liquid or solid phase (by
R
n
condensation or deposition), the stored energy is released as sensible

ch i
heat onto the surface where condensation (or sublimation) has

a
occurred.

t S
• Condensation causes cloud and fog to form. Condensation will require
p
minute impurities or particles called condensation nuclei; without
a
C
these nuclei, the vapour would become supersaturated which is 100%

y
Humidity but still in gas form.

B
Change of State
d e
h a n
• Freezing
o k
ja L
• If the water droplet is cooled below zero, then it may change state
again to ice.
u n
R
• The process is called freezing (the droplet may cool to considerably
n
i
below zero - called supercooling).

ch
a
• Freezing may also require the existence of freezing nuclei.

t S
• Latent heat is released.

a p
y C
B
Change of State
d e
h a n
• Melting
o k
ja L
• The opposite change of state, from solid to liquid, is called
melting.Latent heat is absorbed.
u n
n R
ch i
S a
a p t
y C
B
Change of State
d e
h a n
• Sublimation/Deposition
o k
ja L
• Sublimation is the change of state directly from water vapour to ice
without water droplets being formed.
u n
R
• Latent heat is released. This process is also known as deposition.
n
ch i
• The change of state from ice directly to water vapour is also called

a
sublimation.

t S
• Latent heat is absorbed.

a p
y C
B
The terms used to describe water vapour content are:
d e
h a n
o k
• Vapour Pressure : The partial pressure exerted by water vapour in the
air is called Vapour Pressure.
ja L
n
• Saturation Pressure: It is the pressure exerted by water vapour when
u
R
air is saturated.

i n
• Absolute Humidity : The weight of water vapour in agiven volume of

ch
air at a given temperature.
a
S
• It is usually expressed in gm/m3.
t
a p
y C
B
The terms used to describe water vapour content are:
d e
h a n
o k
• Relative Humidity : It is defined as the ratio, in percentage,of the
L
actual water vapour present in the air to the maximum it can contain
ja
n
at the same temperature and pressure.

R u
• RH (%) = HMR × 100 / HMR for saturated air

i n
• RH(%) = Vapour Pressure of Air × 100 / Saturation Vapour Pressure
of Air.
a ch
S
• Humidity Mixing Ratio (HMR) : is the weight of water vapour
t
p
contained in unit mass of dry air.
a
C
• It is usually expressed in gm/kg.
y
B
The terms used to describe water vapour
d e
content are: n
• Humidity Mixing Ratio for Saturated Air : It is definedh
a
o k as the

j a L
maximum mass of water vapour that can be contained
mass of air at a particular temperature and pressure.
in a given

• It is also expressed in gm/kg of dry air. n

R u
n
• Dew Point : It is the lowest temperature to which air should be cooled

• Cooling below Dew Point h

i
at constant pressure to saturate
c
it with respect to water.

S a (DP) causes condensation.

a p t
• Dew Point is only affected
whereas RH is affected
by change in water vapour content,
by change in water content and temperature
both.
y C
B
The terms used to describe water vapour
d e
content are: n h a
Dew Point α Water Vapour Content
o k
• By cooling or warming the air, RH changesjbuta L
u n DP does not change.

saturation with respect to ice.n R

• Frost Point : It is temperature to which air must be cooled to reach

• Cooling below the frostc h i

S a point causes formation of hoar frost.

a p t
y C
B
 Measurement
d e
• This instrument consists of two thermometers,
h a n
one of which has its bulb constantly kept wet
o k
ja
which measures the wet-bulb temperature and
L
n
the other thermometer is simply open to the
u
R
free air and thus called the dry bulb
thermometer.
i n
ch
• Evaporation from the wet bulb lowers the

S a
temperature (because evaporation absorbs

p t
latent heat from the surroundings) so that the
a
C
wet bulb thermometer usually shows a lower

B y
temperature than that of the dry bulb
thermometer.
Measurement
d e
h a n
k
• The lowest temperature to which air may be cooled by the
o
evaporation of water is known as the wet bulb temperature.
L
ja
• In conjunction with the dry bulb temperature, this forms the standard

u n
method of measuring humidity at the earth’s surface.

R
• If air is saturated, no evaporation will occur and thermometers will
n
read the same.
ch i
a
• This is the dew point temperature.
S
a p t
• Dew Point, relative humidity and HMR can be read from tables or a
slide rule by entering the values that the two temperatures obtained.

y C
B
Dew Point Temperature
d e
h a n
• The dew point or dewpoint of a given parcel of air is the temperature
to which the parcel must be cooled, at constant barometric pressure,

o k
for the water vapour component to condense into water.

ja L
• The dew point of unsaturated air decreases by approximately 0.5°C
per 1,000 ft.
u n
R
• The dew point is associated with the relative humidity.
n
i
• A high relative humidity indicates that the dew point is closer to the
ch
a
current air temperature. If the relative humidity is 100%, the dew

S
point will be equal to the current temperature.
t
a p
• The dew point can never be more than the ambient temperature.

C
• By knowing the temperature and dew point we can calculate the
y
B
approximate cloudbase of convective cloud.
T - DP x 400 = Cloud Base (in feet)
Diurnal Variation of Humidity
d e
h a n
o k
• By day, as the temperature increases, the relative humidity will
L
decrease because the maximum amount of water vapour air can hold
ja
n
increases as the temperature rises.

R u
• RH is lowest at 1400 hrs LMT and highest half an hour after dawn.

i n
• The higher relative humidity at night is the reason for the formation

ch
of mist and fog after dark in autumn and winter.
a
S
• This type of fog that is very common over land at night in autumn and
t
p
winter is called radiation fog.
a
y C
B
 Diurnal Variation of Humidity
d e
h a n
o k
ja L
u n
n R
ch i
S a
a p t
y C
B
RH is maximum approximately 30 minutes after sunrise when the temperature is minimum
Things to Remember
d e
h a n
• As the temperature increases – amount of water vapour required to
saturate it also increases.
o k
ja L
• At sub-zero temperatures, water molecules have more energy and a

n
greater degree freedom than ice, consequently the saturation vapour
u
pressure over water drops is more than that over the ice particles.
R
n
• For Saturated Air (In Rain or Fog) –

ch i
• Air Temperature = Wet Bulb Temperature = Dew Point Temperature

S a
• With increase of temperature – the saturation humidity mixing ratio

a p t
also increases i.e the water vapour holding capacity of air increases.
• HMR remains constant when air is lifted adiabatically, if there is no

y C
addition or removal of water vapour.