Temperature vs Humidity
In general, every one of us knows the meaning of concepts of temperature and humidity. After all, who doesn’t know that temperature is a measure of how hot or how cold an object is. Similarly, humidity refers to the presence of moisture in air and the amount of water content in air decides how humid it is. But how the two concepts are related and what the difference between temperature and humidity is what confuses many. This article will differentiate between the two terms and also elaborate on how the two are related and tend to affect us during summers.
Temperature
Probably temperature is one quantity that is measured the most all over the world. Higher the temperature, the hotter it is and so we feel in summers. Temperature of air is directly governed by solar radiation, and more the amount of solar energy in the environment, higher is the air temperature. Temperature is a quantity that is measured using a thermometer and its units are both Centigrade and Fahrenheit.
Humidity
At a given temperature, the amount of water vapor present in air is referred to as its humidity. It is a fact that air can hold more water when it is hot. There is another concept called relative humidity which is a percentage of the actual amount of water vapor present in air to what air can hold at that temperature in theory. Hygrometers are used to measure humidity present in air.
Let us see how humidity affects us in summers. Humidity cannot change the temperature of air but it does affect how body perceives that temperature. There are times during summers when even high temperature does not make us feel hot and we can manage easily. 22 degree centigrade in UK is much hot than 22 degree centigrade in South Africa. Well, when the temperature of air is same, one should feel the same at both places but in reality, people in UK feel hotter because of the presence of high humidity in air which does not allow perspiration to evaporate. When humidity is low, perspiration tends to evaporate quickly, making our bodies feel cooler. However, when the air is rich in water vapor, perspiration does not get a chance to evaporate making us feel sweaty all the time and we feel that the same temperature is hotter at one place than another.
35 degree in India is and 35 degree in Australia is not perceived by our bodies in the same way because of high humidity of air in India. This is why 35 degree in India feels hotter than 35 degrees in Australia.
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Difference between Temperature and Humidity • Temperature is a measure of heat whereas humidity is a measure of the amount of water vapor present in air. • Temperature of air is governed by solar radiation and higher solar energy means higher temperature of air. • High temperature coupled with high humidity makes us feel sweaty and temperature feels hotter than it is.
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