This article is about the meteorological dew point. For the petroleum term, see Hydrocarbon dew point.

The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with
water vapor. When further cooled, the airborne water vapor will condense to form liquid
water (dew). When air cools to its dew point through contact with a surface that is colder
than the air, water will condense on the surface.[1][2] When the temperature is below the
freezing point of water, the dew point is called the frost point, as frost is formed rather than
dew.[3] The measurement of the dew point is related to humidity. A higher dew point means
there will be more moisture in the air.[2]

Humidity

If all the other factors influencing humidity remain constant, at ground level the relative
humidity rises as the temperature falls. This is because less vapor is needed to saturate the
air, so vapor condenses as the temperature falls. In normal conditions, the dew point
temperature will not be greater than the air temperature because relative humidity cannot
exceed 100%.[4]

In technical terms, the dew point is the temperature at which the water vapor in a sample of
air at constant barometric pressure condenses into liquid water at the same rate at which it
evaporates.[5] At temperatures below the dew point, the rate of condensation will be greater
than that of evaporation, forming more liquid water. The condensed water is called dew
when it forms on a solid surface, or frost if it freezes. In the air, the condensed water is
called either fog or a cloud, depending on its altitude when it forms. If the temperature is
below the dew point, the vapor is called supersaturated. This can happen if there are not
enough particles in the air to act as condensation nuclei.[6]

A high relative humidity implies that the dew point is closer to the current air temperature. A
relative humidity of 100% indicates the dew point is equal to the current temperature and
that the air is maximally saturated with water. When the moisture content remains constant
and temperature increases, relative humidity decreases, but the dew point remains
constant.[7]

General aviation pilots use dew point data to calculate the likelihood of carburetor icing and
fog, and to estimate the height of a cumuliform cloud base.
 Humidity and hygrometry

Specific concepts

Absolute / Specific / Relative

Dew point (depression)

Psychrometrics

General concepts

Air Concentration Density Dew

Humidity buffering

Evaporation (Atm.) Pressure

Liquid water Avogadro's law

Nucleation Thermodynamic equilibrium

Measures and Instruments

Heat index Sat. vap. density

Mixing ratio Water activity

H. indicator card Hygrometer

Dry/Wet-bulb temperature

v t e
 This graph shows the maximum percentage, by mass,
of water vapor that air at sea-level pressure across a
range of temperatures can contain. For a lower
ambient pressure, a curve has to be drawn above the
current curve. A higher ambient pressure yields a
curve under the current curve.

Increasing the barometric pressure increases the dew point.[8] This means that, if the
pressure increases, the mass of water vapour in the air must be reduced in order to maintain
the same dew point. For example, consider New York (33 ft or 10 m elevation) and Denver
(5,280 ft or 1,610 m elevation[9]). Because Denver is at a higher elevation than New York, it
will tend to have a lower barometric pressure. This means that if the dew point and
temperature in both cities are the same, the amount of water vapor in the air will be greater
in Denver.

Relationship to human comfort

This section needs additional citations for verification.

When the air temperature is high, the human body uses the evaporation of sweat to cool
down, with the cooling effect directly related to how fast the perspiration evaporates. The
rate at which perspiration can evaporate depends on how much moisture is in the air and
how much moisture the air can hold. If the air is already saturated with moisture,
perspiration will not evaporate. The body's thermoregulation will produce perspiration in an
effort to keep the body at its normal temperature even when the rate it is producing sweat
exceeds the evaporation rate, so one can become coated with sweat on humid days even
without generating additional body heat (such as by exercising).
As the air surrounding one's body is warmed by body heat, it will rise and be replaced with
other air. If air is moved away from one's body with a natural breeze or a fan, sweat will
evaporate faster, making perspiration more effective at cooling the body. The more
unevaporated perspiration, the greater the discomfort.

A wet bulb thermometer also uses evaporative cooling, so it provides a good measure for
use in evaluating comfort level.

Discomfort also exists when the dew point is low (below around −30 °C or −22 °F). The drier
air can cause skin to crack and become irritated more easily. It will also dry out the airways.
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends indoor air be
maintained at 20–24.5 °C (68–76 °F) with a 20–60% relative humidity, equivalent to a dew
point of −4.5 to 15.5 °C (24 to 60 °F).

Lower dew points, less than 10 °C (50 °F), correlate with lower ambient temperatures and
the body requires less cooling. A lower dew point can go along with a high temperature only
at extremely low relative humidity, allowing for relatively effective cooling.

People inhabiting tropical and subtropical climates acclimatize somewhat to higher dew
points. Thus, a resident of Singapore or Miami, for example, might have a higher threshold
for discomfort than a resident of a temperate climate like London or Chicago. People
accustomed to temperate climates often begin to feel uncomfortable when the dew point
gets above 15 °C (59 °F), while others might find dew points up to 18 °C (64 °F)
comfortable. Most inhabitants of temperate areas will consider dew points above 21 °C
(70 °F) oppressive and tropical-like, while inhabitants of hot and humid areas may not find
this uncomfortable. Thermal comfort depends not just on physical environmental factors,
but also on psychological factors.[10]

Dew point Relative humidity at 32 °C (90 °F)

Over 26 °C Over 80 °F 73% and higher

24–26 °C 75–80 °F 62–72%

21–24 °C 70–74 °F 52–61%

18–21 °C 65–69 °F 44–51%

16–18 °C 60–64 °F 37–43%

13–16 °C 55–59 °F 31–36%

10–12 °C 50–54 °F 26–30%

Under 10 °C Under 50 °F 25% and lower

 Measurement

Devices called hygrometers are used to measure dew point over a wide range of
temperatures. These devices consist of a polished metal mirror which is cooled as air is
passed over it. The temperature at which dew forms is, by definition, the dew point. Manual
devices of this sort can be used to calibrate other types of humidity sensors, and automatic
sensors may be used in a control loop with a humidifier or dehumidifier to control the dew
point of the air in a building or in a smaller space for a manufacturing process.

Extreme values

A dew point of 35 °C (95 °F) was observed at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, at 15g00 AST on July
8, 2003, which caused the heat index to reach 81 °C (178 °F), the highest value recorded.
The highest dew point observed in the United States was 33 °C (91 °F) at 14g00 EDT on July
12, 1987, in Melbourne, Florida.

Calculating the dew point

Graph of the dependence of the dew point upon air

temperature for several levels of relative humidity.

See also: Psychrometric chart

A well-known approximation used to calculate the dew point, Tdp, given just the actual ("dry
bulb") air temperature, T (in degrees Celsius) and relative humidity (in percent), RH, is the
Magnus formula:
The more complete formulation and origin of this approximation involves the interrelated
saturated water vapor pressure (in units of millibars, also called hectopascals) at T, Ps(T),
and the actual vapor pressure (also in units of millibars), Pa(T), which can be either found
with RH or approximated with the barometric pressure (in millibars), BPmb, and "wet-bulb"
temperature, Tw is (unless declared otherwise, all temperatures are expressed in degrees
Celsius):

For greater accuracy, Ps(T) (and therefore γ(T, RH)) can be enhanced, using part of the
Bögel modification, also known as the Arden Buck equation, which adds a fourth constant d:

where

a = 6.1121 mb, b = 18.678, c = 257.14 °C, d = 234.5 °C.

There are several different constant sets in use. The ones used in NOAA's presentation[11]
are taken from a 1980 paper by David Bolton in the Monthly Weather Review:[12]

a = 6.112 mb, b = 17.67, c = 243.5 °C.

These valuations provide a maximum error of 0.1%, for −30 °C ≤ T ≤ 35°C and 1% < RH <
100%. Also noteworthy is the Sonntag1990,[13]

a = 6.112 mb, b = 17.62, c = 243.12 °C; for −45 °C ≤ T ≤ 60 °C (error ±0.35 °C).

Another common set of values originates from the 1974 Psychrometry and Psychrometric
Charts, as presented by Paroscientific,[14]

a = 6.105 mb, b = 17.27, c = 237.7 °C; for 0 °C ≤ T ≤ 60 °C (error ±0.4 °C).

Also, in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology,[15] Arden Buck presents
several different valuation sets, with different minimum accuracies for different temperature
ranges. Two particular sets provide a range of −40 °C to +50 °C between the two, with even
greater minimum accuracy than all of the other, above sets (maximum error at extremes of
temperature range):

a = 6.1121 mb, b = 17.368, c = 238.88 °C; for 0 °C ≤ T ≤ 50 °C (error ≤ 0.05%).

a = 6.1121 mb, b = 17.966, c = 247.15 °C; for −40 °C ≤ T ≤ 0 °C (error ≤ 0.06%).

Simple approximation

There is also a very simple approximation that allows conversion between the dew point,
temperature, and relative humidity. This approach is accurate to within about ±1 °C as long
as the relative humidity is above 50%:

This can be expressed as a simple rule of thumb:

For every 1 °C difference in the dew point and dry bulb temperatures, the
relative humidity decreases by 5%, starting with RH = 100% when the dew
point equals the dry bulb temperature.

The derivation of this approach, a discussion of its accuracy, comparisons to other

approximations, and more information on the history and applications of the dew point are
given in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.[16]

For temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit, these approximations work out to

For example, a relative humidity of 100% means dew point is the same as air temp. For 90%
RH, dew point is 3 °F lower than air temperature. For every 10 percent lower, dew point
drops 3 °F.

Frost point

The frost point is similar to the dew point in that it is the temperature to which a given
parcel of humid air must be cooled, at constant atmospheric pressure, for water vapor to be
deposited on a surface as ice crystals without undergoing the liquid phase (compare with
sublimation). The frost point for a given parcel of air is always higher than the dew point, as
the stronger bonding between water molecules on the surface of ice requires higher
temperature to break.[17]

See also

Bubble point

Carburetor heat

Hydrocarbon dew point

Psychrometrics

Thermodynamic diagrams

References

1. Glossary – NOAA's National Weather Service

2. John M. Wallace; Peter V. Hobbs (24 March 2006). Atmospheric Science: An

Introductory Survey . Academic Press. pp. 83–. ISBN 978-0-08-049953-6.

3. Glossary – NOAA's National Weather Service

4. "Observed Dew Point Temperature" . Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at

the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved 15 February 2018.

5. Dew Point | Definition of dew point by Merriam-Webster

6. Skilling, Tom (20 July 2011). "Ask Tom why: Is it possible for relative humidity to exceed
100 percent?" . Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
 7. Horstmeyer, Steve (2006-08-15). "Relative Humidity....Relative to What? The Dew
Point Temperature...a better approach" . Steve Horstmeyer, Meteorologist, WKRC TV,
Cincinnati, OH. Retrieved 2009-08-20.

8. "Dew Point in Compressed Air – Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). Vaisala.

Retrieved 15 February 2018.

9. "Denver Facts Guide – Today" . The City and County of Denver. Archived from the
original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2007.

10. Lin, Tzu-Ping (10 February 2009). "Thermal perception, adaptation and attendance in a
public square in hot and humid regions" (PDF). Building and Environment. 44 (10):
2017–2026. Retrieved 23 January 2018.

11. Relative Humidity and Dewpoint Temperature from Temperature and Wet-Bulb
Temperature

12. Bolton, David (July 1980). "The Computation of Equivalent Potential Temperature"
(PDF). Monthly Weather Review. 108 (7): 1046–1053.
Bibcode:1980MWRv..108.1046B . doi:10.1175/1520-
0493(1980)108<1046gTCOEPT>2.0.CO;2 .

13. SHTxx Application Note Dew-point Calculation

14. "MET4 and MET4A Calculation of Dew Point" . Archived from the original on May 26,
2012. Retrieved 7 October 2014.

15. Buck, Arden L. (December 1981). "New Equations for Computing Vapor Pressure and
Enhancement Factor" (PDF). Journal of Applied Meteorology. 20 (12): 1527–1532.
Bibcode:1981JApMe..20.1527B . doi:10.1175/1520-
0450(1981)020<1527gNEFCVP>2.0.CO;2 .

16. Lawrence, Mark G. (February 2005). "The Relationship between Relative Humidity and
the Dewpoint Temperature in Moist Air: A Simple Conversion and Applications". Bulletin
of the American Meteorological Society. 86 (2): 225–233.
Bibcode:2005BAMS...86..225L . doi:10.1175/BAMS-86-2-225 .

17. Haby, Jeff. "Frost point and dew point" . Retrieved September 30, 2011.

External links

Often Needed Answers about Temp, Humidity & Dew Point from the
sci.geo.meteorology
Last edited on 15 June 2019, at 21O58