Relative humidity, what does it mean?

Arabia Weather - It is necessary to know the meaning of the word humidity first before learning about the term relative humidity. Humidity is the amount of water vapor present in the air, that is, the amount that the air can carry, and this depends on the temperature of the air, which has a major role in determining the amount of water vapor that He can absorb it.

Referring to the term relative humidity, it means the ratio between the amount of water vapor present in a certain volume of air, and the amount of water vapor necessary to saturate the same volume of air at the same temperature. Relative humidity is an important measure used in weather forecasts and reports, as it is an indicator of the probability of rainfall. Or dew and fog form.

As we said, temperature plays an important role in the amount of water vapor that the air can carry. The higher its temperature, the greater its ability to absorb a larger amount of water vapor. The effect of temperature can be observed in the polar regions of the Earth, despite the decrease in the amount of water vapor in However, the relative humidity on most days is high, due to the coldness of the air and its inability to absorb the small amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. Just as desert areas have high temperatures, the relative humidity there is low, as the air volume is larger and it absorbs a higher amount of water vapor.

We can also take the issue of fog, which occurs because the temperature reaches the lowest level where there is the best opportunity for the condensation process to occur, and thus fog is formed. However, when the sun rises and temperatures rise, the air volume increases, the relative humidity decreases and the fog disappears.