The air of the Mount Washington Valley has changed in recent years. Tourists who flock to our region in order to escape from unhealthy air have witnessed that such a flee produced little improvement. It is not pollution that is in our sky, but the creepy-crawly giant known as humidity. This gaseous-like substance occurs more often then not during the summer months now. Many answers concerning its cause, effect, and controversy are available to battle against the Valley's ghost-like opponent.
Slightly over one week ago, the North Conway region witnessed one of the hottest heat waves in history. It was not the real-time temperature that forced the heat wave to be that of extreme rareness, but the humidity that accompanied it. For the first four days of July, the mercury rose to nearly one hundred degrees. However, with a very high humidity reading, the feeling of the air rose to nearly one hundred fifteen degrees.
You may be surprised to know that our atmosphere consists of a lot of water. Humidity is the amount of water in the air. For instance, a twenty-five percent humidity reading means the air is holding one quarter the amount of water possible. When the percentage is lower, the air is dry with few clouds. If the percentage is higher, the air is wet with many clouds. Humidity is not a negative aspect to the atmosphere because it aids in increasing cloud cover and precipitation, which is necessary for our survival.
One common mistake is that many believe humidity increases the temperature, when in reality; it increases the feeling of the temperature. When the mercury was ninety-nine degrees during Independence Week, a humidity reading of approximately fifty percent accompanied it. Therefore the amount of water in the air was half full. This combination of the high humidity and the extremely warm temperatures produced the feeling that the air was much warmer because of the moisture on ourselves. The high humidity makes heat dangerous because it slows the evaporation of perspiration, which is your body's natural cooler.
Just how hot is one hundred fifteen degrees? This question opens the door to one of the largest controversies in the meteorological community. During the beginning stages of the National Weather Service, the Heat Index Chart was developed. The formula for the heat index was the combination of relative humidity with the apparent air temperature. Scientists now believe that the formula creates a heat index that is too high.
No matter what the outcome is for the Heat Index Chart, one aspect that will never change is the effect that humidity has on our bodies. We all had a significant fight with our bittersweet opponent during Independence Week. Humidity is here not to harm our lifestyle, but to enhance it. However, when humidity arrives with heat, the results can be deadly. Keeping dehydrated and cool can provide residents with the upper hand in protecting themselves from heat.