
For example, at 92☏ and 40% humidity the heat index is 94☏, but at 70% humidity it jumps up to 112☏. Heat index indicates how hot it “feels” when considering both air temperature and relative humidity.

Meteorologists typically describe water vapor in the atmosphere in two different ways.

Generally, dew points of 50☏ - 59☏ are considered comfortable, 60☏ - 69☏ are considered uncomfortable, and 70☏ and up are considered very uncomfortable. Humidity is, in general, a measure of water vapor in the air. Also, the more saturated the air the more difficult it is for sweat to evaporate which is how the body cools itself on a hot day. On the other hand, dew point is not influenced by temperature and it shows absolute value of the amount of moisture in gas. If the air temperature is much higher, 100☏(37.78☌) for example, it would be extremely hot while still being fairly humid. Compressed air is used for several purposes, many of which require compressed air with a low humidity level, and so comes the need to know the dew point. A dew point of 70☏ (21.11☌) would be considered uncomfortable because if the air temperature is 80☏(26.67☌), for example, it would be extremely humid while being fairly hot. If the dew point and the air temperature are the same, the air can no longer hold water vapor and condensation occurs.ĭew point is often used as an indication of how “comfortable” the weather is when considering both temperature and humidity. The dew point can never be higher than the current air temperature because air can never be more than 100% saturated with water. If air is compressed or expanded, its dew point. This directly affects how 'comfortable' it will feel outside. The higher the dew point rises, the greater the amount of moisture in the air.

If the air were to be cooled even more, water vapor would have to come out of the atmosphere in the liquid form, usually as fog or precipitation. At this point the air cannot hold more water in the gas form. Dew point is calculated from the current air temperature and the relative humidity of the air. The current dew point can be calculated using the air temperature and a relative humidity value, (which is measured using something called a sling psychrometer). Dewpoint is related to the quantity of moisture in the air while relative humidity is related to how close the air is to saturation. The dew point temperature is a measurement of the water vapor content in a gas. The dew point is the temperature the air needs to be cooled to (at constant pressure) in order to achieve a relative humidity (RH) of 100. What is Dew Point?ĭew point indicates the temperature to which the air would need to cool to be 100% saturated with water vapor (relative humidity of 100%). The TPI 597C1 digital hygrometer / psychrometer is a state of the art, easy to use low cost humidity tester designed to display ambient, dew point, and wet. It is an indicator of the presence of dew, frost, fog, and precipitation. Measuring Dew Point and Heat Index PocketLab Voyager, Weather, and Air can all measure dew point and heat index. Humidity is defined as the amount of water vapor (gaseous phase of water) in the air.
