Why Does Humidity Matter?

Humidity is the presence of water vapor in the atmosphere. The more water evaporates in a given area, the more water vapor rises into the air, and the higher the humidity of that area is. Hot places tend to be more humid than cool places because heat causes water to evaporate faster.

Why do we need humidity?

Water vapour is important for moving energy around the Earth. ... Humidity is essentially the amount of water vapour in the air, so if air has a lot of moisture in it, and it's a warm day, it will feel very close and muggy, making it difficult for us to keep cool.

What is an uncomfortable level of humidity?

While there's no set humidity threshold above which general comfort level begins to deteriorate, NOAA typically considers relative humidity (RH) levels of 50% or more, and dewpoints (a more direct measure of humidity) above 65 F (18 C) to be uncomfortably high.