Why the air feels sticky and humid

Dew points are reaching sticky territories, making it feel humid right now. Here's why and how to also check out this feature inside the app!

The dew point temperature is defined as the temperature to which it must be cooled to, to become saturated.

When the air is saturated this means the relative humidity is at 100% and the air cannot hold any more water vapour, so is condensed out into liquid form. It is simply a measure of how much moisture is in the air at any given point.

Both dew point temperature and relative humidity measure the moisture content in the atmosphere.

The difference however, is that relative humidity is temperature driven, giving you a relative measure of how saturated the air is, while dew point is an absolute measure of the moisture content.

In the coming days, the air temperature will be reaching the mid to high twenties, around 26°C to 28°C. The dew points, will be reaching 18°C to 20°C, leaving a relative humidity of around 50-70%.

You can find all this detail inside the app, by clicking the hourly increments in the 'today' section and also the 'afternoon', 'evening', 'night' and 'morning' blocks in the forecast section lower down the page.

Tapping these areas will show an addition box of information below, including the humidity and dew point.

A 'feels like' temperature is also available, calculated by taking into account the air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed. Wind speed is more relevant in winter, as it makes it feel colder with a stronger wind chill.