2. Climate and air as planning factors
Air humidity


The measure for humidity applied in climatology varies according to the purpose.

Absolute humidity indicates how many grammes of water vapour one cubic metre of air contains. But the air's ability to absorb water vapour largely depends on air temperature. 1 m³ of air can absorb a maximum of 51 g of water vapour at a temperature of 104 °F (40 °C), but only 1.1 g at a temperature of -4 °F (-20 °C).

This is why it makes more sense to use the relative humidity as an indicator of the actual content of water vapour in the air in relation to the biggest possible content in percent (at the current air temperature). Relative air humidity is strongly associated with evaporation, for example, and is therefore a frequently used factor in Urban Climatology.

Air humidity plays a significant role in the field of building physics (e.g. condensation water, mould covering at interior walls). Humidity in combination with air temperature also has a great influence on our well-being as people's heat balance can be significantly disturbed in times of high humidity and higher temperatures (feeling of sultriness).

© City of Stuttgart, Office for Environmental Protection, Section of Urban Climatology

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