Humidity

Humidity means water vapor in the air, but excludes liquid droplets in fog, clouds, or rain. Deserts usually have low humidity, and tropical regions have high humidity. The word "humid" often means that the humidity is high, which gives the feeling of being very damp (wet air), stuffy, or even sweltering when the temperature is also high. When the humidity is low, the air can be said to be "not humid" or "dry."

Higher humidity reduces the effectiveness of sweating in cooling the body by reducing the rate of evaporation of moisture from the skin.

The term "relative humidity" is used to note the amount of humidity as a percent, from 0-100%. Meteorologists use hygrometers to measure the humidity in the air.

Humidity affects the rate of evaporation. With a higher humidity, a substance's rate of evaporation is less.

Related pages

Humidity Media

Global distribution of relative humidity at the surface averaged over the years 1981–2010 from the CHELSA-BIOCLIM+ data set
Paranal Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on Earth.
A hygrothermograph for humidity and temperature recording
Hygrometer for domestic use, wet/dry psychrometer type
Thermo hygrometer displaying temperature and relative humidity
Chart showcasing changes in relative humidity via different processes.
Hygrostat set to 50% relative humidity
Humidor, used to control humidity of cigars
Average humidity around Australia year-round at 9 am 80–90% 30–40%
Tillandsia usneoides in Tropical house, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It is growing where the climate is warm enough and has a relatively high average humidity.