Most of us often care about temperatures to know if the next day is hot or cold. However, it is easy to notice that there are a few days that are much hotter or cooler than the others even though they have the same temperatures.
The main reason lies in the level of humidity in the air. On a humid day, wet air can make you feel much hotter than the actual temperatures, while cold temperature with dry air can be a little bit cooler. To help you learn more about this, we’ll show you some basic things about humidity and the difference between wet and dry air.
Overview Of Humidity
The air around us is comprised of numerous gases, including water vapor. Humidity is basically the amount of this water vapor or moisture in the air, which indicates the possibilities of fog, dew, or precipitation.
There are three measurements of humidity, including absolute humidity, specific humidity, and relative humidity. In radio media and local TVs, relative humidity is often used in a weather forecast.
Humidity plays an essential role in our lives. Since humans and other animals depend on sweating to regular the internal temperature of the body, high levels of moisture can impair the efficiency of heat exchange by lowering the rate of evaporation from the skin surface.
Also, humidity is a decisive factor in nearly all industries such as manufacturing, building construction, and more.
What Is Dry Air?
In relation to the weather, dry air is the air that has a low level of moisture or low relative humidity. This condition often occurs at very cold or very hot temperatures.
When the moisture drops below 40%, the air might feel dry to your skin. If very low levels of humidity relative persist, it would make your lips chapped and skin dry. Breathing dry air is also a possible health hazard as it might cause respiratory illnesses such as sinusitis, bronchitis, asthma, or nosebleeds.
Similarly, dry air can lead to cracking in some household equipment such as barrels and pipes.
These issues can be reduced simply by increasing the relative humidity inside your home with a humidifier, vaporizer, or steam generator. Even water in the bath or wet towels can also be helpful in bringing the desired level of moisture.
What Is Wet Air?
Wet air or saturated air, on the other hand, is the air which has a high level of moisture or high relative humidity. This condition can happen at any temperature, but it is especially common when the temperature is warm because a higher level will increase the capability of absorbing moisture in the air.
Adding more water into the air in an enclosed space at a specific temperature can cause the air to take in more moisture. This might be harmful to many industrial process as well as metal structures and equipment due to enhanced corrosive reactions
When it is humid and hot, you can feel much more uncomfortable and annoyed. The main reason is that that it is much more difficult for your body to evaporate the moisture on the skin, which increases the internal temperature.
The most effective method to reduce the level of moisture in your home is to use a dehumidifier.
What Is The Difference Between Wet Air And Dry Air?
From the above definition, we can see that the main difference between the wet air an dry air comes from the level of moisture in the air. In the winter-like and saturated air, there is approximately 2 g/kg of water vapor, while the tropical-like air has about 20 g/kg of water vapor.
In other words, the dry air typically has ten times as much moisture as wet air at the same relative humidity level.
Due to this divergence, they can also create different effects on human bodies. Moist air can make a hot day become even hotter and more uncomfortable because it limits the evaporation of moisture on the skin, while dry air can make your skin rough and chapped.
Depending on the condition in your house, you can choose to purchase a humidifier or dehumidifier to minimize these issues by increasing or decreasing the amount of moisture or water vapor in the air.
