# My annual diatribe on humidity **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2016, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185 "2016-06-12T14:37:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/21 "2016-06-13T20:27:50Z")
BTW, GatoE, I took your advice and kept my 530i. She went to the Bimmer hospital a few weeks ago and got lots of stuff done – runs beautifully! ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/22 "2016-06-13T20:29:30Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Shouldn’t sharks like it when it’s positively wet? > (No hitting with hard objects! Use your pillows!) But you must remember that I was a Pacific Ocean (California) shark before I swam to the Atlantic Ocean! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/23 "2016-06-13T21:09:17Z")
[RIGHT][/RIGHT] > [@Jennshark](#): > > BTW, GatoE, I took your advice and kept my 530i. She went to the Bimmer hospital a few weeks ago and got lots of stuff done – runs beautifully! Glad to be of help! My 740 just developed some “issue”. :dubious: I’ll work on it… later. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/24 "2016-06-13T22:20:51Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > [RIGHT][/RIGHT] > > Glad to be of help! My 740 just developed some “issue”. :dubious: > > I’ll work on it… later. “Issues” and “BMW” are scary words when put together. I’m sending good thoughts for your 740 Girl (Boy?) ---
**Author:** ![SuperAbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@SuperAbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperAbe)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/25 "2016-06-14T03:50:55Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > As a rule of thumb, in summer, I consider a dewpoint of 70 to be refreshingly cool, and 75 is in the uncomfortable range. Most days here it is in the 70-75 range. :eek::eek::eek: A GIS for “dew point chart” leads to most suggesting dew points around 55-60 are “comfortable” and 71-75 is “oppressive”. Here (upper Midwest - US) we had a couple of hours in the 80+ dew point range during a heat wave about 5 years ago… Reminded me of coastal Panama. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/26 "2016-06-14T04:38:44Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > To understand humidity, you have tounderstand Dew Point, That is the real indicator, and the TV weatherman pretty much ignores it, ,preferring the useless buzzword "humidity. > > Dew point is the temperature at which the air is saturated with all the moisture it can hold. If the temp drops beliw the dew point, moisture condenses out and dew forms. The dew point can never be higher than the temperature, and when they are the same, the humidity is 100%. > > The dew point remains relatively stable through the day, so if it starts out low in the morning, there is a good chance it will not be a very humid day. > > Here in south Texas, its 9:30 am, and the temperature is already up to 88, with a dew point of 79, and a “feels like” quotation of 106. 79 is a very high dew point. By contrast, in Bangkok right now (It’s ten pm) the temp is 86, it feels like 93, and there is a lovely dewpoint of 72. > > As a rule of thumb, in summer, I consider a dewpoint of 70 to be refreshingly cool, and 75 is in the uncomfortable range. Most days here it is in the 70-75 range. Yes, five degrees of dewpoint will make an enormous difference in how you feel. Here is this morning’s dew point map: > > [https://www.wunderground.com/maps/us/Dewpoint.html](https://www.wunderground.com/maps/us/Dewpoint.html) Our weather forecaster mentions the dew point, and we are getting to the time of year when I dread the numbers. I’m always excited in the late summer as I see them drop, until they finally settle in the 50s for a while and I feel that I can relax, and summer will soon be over. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/27 "2016-06-14T15:08:11Z")
On paper, Bangkok and Houston are about neck-and-neck as far as temperature and avg. relative humidity during the hot months, with Houston having higher record high temps. The only good thing about Houston’s weather vs. Bangkok’s is that Houston actually cools off in the winter, while Bangkok seems to be miserably hot and humid year round, with the average high being under 90 only one month of the year in December, when the average high is 89.3. It also rains a lot less in Houston. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/28 "2016-06-14T16:30:18Z")
> [@bump](#): > > On paper, Bangkok and Houston are about neck-and-neck as far as temperature and avg. relative humidity during the hot months, with Houston having higher record high temps. > > The only good thing about Houston’s weather vs. Bangkok’s is that Houston actually cools off in the winter, while Bangkok seems to be miserably hot and humid year round, with the average high being under 90 only one month of the year in December, when the average high is 89.3. It also rains a lot less in Houston. That’s actually an advantage in Bangkok’s favor. You get the heat consistently enough that you get used to it. I live in the Houston climate vortex, and I hate the cold of winter here. Rain is nice when its 90, but considerably more unpleasant when its 40. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/29 "2016-06-14T21:09:49Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Rain is nice when its 90, but considerably more unpleasant when its 40. That’s actually one of those things I’ve had a hard time explaining to people. Even though it’s rarely COLD in Houston, it’s often very uncomfortable in the winter because of the humidity in ways that the same temperature doesn’t seem so uncomfortable in less humid climes. Humidity is like a “weather misery enhancer”- it makes every temperature more uncomfortable. New Orleans is especially weird to me- the humidity and discomfort vary much more drastically during the day than anywhere else I’ve been. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/30 "2016-06-15T00:39:13Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > When I go to Bangkok, I always stay in the same hotel, which has big windows that I can open so I never need to turn on the AC. Sleeping is very pleasant, so is walking around during the day. A casual walk of an hour or so is not uncomfortable. > > In the humid tropics, it rarely gets above about 92, pretty much like New Orleans in summer. Overnight lows go down below 80, so a lot of the moisture condenses out of the air as dew. The record high in Bangkok is 104, and every state in the USA (except Alaska aand Hawaii) has a higher record than that. In New Jersey, the record is 110. Well, you’re made of sterner stuff than I am. Even after decades, I find it unbelievably harsh, and every Thai I know including my wife agrees it feels worse now. In Hawaii, I was always outdoors, same as everyone. In Thailand it’s always easy to identify the local farang (Western) residents, because we’re all pale from never venturing out of doors. I also remember you identified your hotel in the past as being on the eastern edge of Bangkok, and I’m not sure you would do the same if you were more centrally located. The official temps are, I believe, taken at Suvarnabhumi Airport, which isn’t even in Bangkok but rather in open space in Samut Prakan province. No one here believes those figures for the city proper, just like no one ever believes the official population figures. (Migrants from upcountry are always still counted as living in their home province.) It gets much, much hotter in central Bangkok where we live. This is a concrete jungle. And the Northeast tends to get even hotter. We spent Songkran this year in Roi Et province. Songkran is April13-15, right in the middle of the hottest time of year for Thailand and nearby countries. In Roi Et, it was approaching 120 in the afternoon. We all just stayed in my friend’s house with the air con blasting on high. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/31 "2016-06-15T00:51:58Z")
> [@bump](#): > > On paper, Bangkok and Houston are about neck-and-neck as far as temperature and avg. relative humidity during the hot months, with Houston having higher record high temps. > > The only good thing about Houston’s weather vs. Bangkok’s is that Houston actually cools off in the winter, while Bangkok seems to be miserably hot and humid year round, with the average high being under 90 only one month of the year in December, when the average high is 89.3. It also rains a lot less in Houston. It _is_ miserably hot in Bangkok _almost_ year-round. I have to say it can get almost pleasant in December and January. The rains have stopped by then, it’s not rainy at all during that time. But you never can tell. One year recently, the “cool” season, what Thais laughingly refer to as winter, lasted only about 10 days in January. And I remember the hot season five years ago being unusually cool (although it’s been hotter each year since). I lived in Mae Hong Son province for two years in the 1980s, the northwesternmost and most mountainous province, and you’d think that would be cooler in the hot season. It was pretty darned chilly in the cold season, often dropping even to the freezing point at night (but warming up in the day), but the hot season there is often the hottest in the country. It seems the mountains lock in the heat. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/32 "2016-06-16T00:37:50Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Well, you’re made of sterner stuff than I am. Even after decades, I find it unbelievably harsh, and every Thai I know including my wife agrees it feels worse now. In Hawaii, I was always outdoors, same as everyone. In Thailand it’s always easy to identify the local farang (Western) residents, because we’re all pale from never venturing out of doors. I also remember you identified your hotel in the past as being on the eastern edge of Bangkok, and I’m not sure you would do the same if you were more centrally located. > > The official temps are, I believe, taken at Suvarnabhumi Airport, which isn’t even in Bangkok but rather in open space in Samut Prakan province. No one here believes those figures for the city proper, just like no one ever believes the official population figures. (Migrants from upcountry are always still counted as living in their home province.) It gets much, much hotter in central Bangkok where we live. This is a concrete jungle. > > And the Northeast tends to get even hotter. We spent Songkran this year in Roi Et province. Songkran is April13-15, right in the middle of the hottest time of year for Thailand and nearby countries. In Roi Et, it was approaching 120 in the afternoon. We all just stayed in my friend’s house with the air con blasting on high. In countries like Thailand with high humidity, temperatures can never approach the kinds of high temperatures arid countries like Iraq have. If it get “too” hot in humid countries, it rains. The highest temperature ever recorded in Thailand was in Uttaradit. It got to 44.5 C. or 112 F. Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Pakistan, etc. have all had temperatures that exceeded 53 C. 126 F.; Tunisia even got to 55 C. 131 F. I know all about hot, humid Asian summers. I spent seven years in Taipei, Taiwan (_without A/C!_) where summer temperatures regularly reached into the high 30’s, (High 90’s) with deadly high humidity. One can comfortably go outside only between 4 am and 7 am. Ten showers a day was typical. Ate so much “street” watermelon that my sweat smelled like watermelon. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/33 "2016-06-16T02:47:10Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > In countries like Thailand with high humidity, temperatures can never approach the kinds of high temperatures arid countries like Iraq have. If it get “too” hot in humid countries, it rains. The highest temperature ever recorded in Thailand was in Uttaradit. It got to 44.5 C. or 112 F. Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Pakistan, etc. have all had temperatures that exceeded 53 C. 126 F.; Tunisia even got to 55 C. 131 F. > > I know all about hot, humid Asian summers. I spent seven years in Taipei, Taiwan (_without A/C!_) where summer temperatures regularly reached into the high 30’s, (High 90’s) with deadly high humidity. One can comfortably go outside only between 4 am and 7 am. Ten showers a day was typical. Ate so much “street” watermelon that my sweat smelled like watermelon. And Taipei isn’t even tropical. The Tropic of Cancer cuts right through the middle of Taiwan, south of Taipei. Most people don’t think of Hong Kong as a tropical island, but it is. Its weather is influenced by the massive fronts coming from Siberia and China. I’ve been in Hong Kong in December, and there’s certainly no tropical feel at that time. A new record for India was set last month at 51 degrees Celsius or 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Thailand’s bad enough. I think I’ll pass on India, at least at that time of year. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/34 "2016-06-16T04:31:03Z")
Both Taipei and HK are miserably cold during the winter. Few if any homes have heat so one never gets warm except under the covers. India (except for the far north) is beautiful during the winter. Wife and I spent a December, January and February traveling on the trains throughout the country. We stayed with a family in the ex Portuguese colony of Goa during the Christmas season. (The Christian influence from the colonial days is still prevalent.) Weather was in the low 80’s F and the ocean temperature was in the 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-annual-diatribe-on-humidity/757185/35 "2016-06-16T04:45:33Z")
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