Saturated air
Also called: Saturation · Topic: Water in the Atmosphere: Humidity, Condensation, Clouds and Precipitation · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 10 "Water in the Atmosphere"
Meaning
Saturated air is air that holds the most water vapour it can at its present temperature. Its relative humidity is 100 per cent. Warm air can hold more vapour than cold air. So saturated air that cools even a little cannot keep all its vapour, and the extra condenses into droplets or ice. The temperature at which air becomes saturated is its dew point. Saturation is the starting point for dew, frost, fog, clouds and rain.
Example
On a clear, calm winter night in the Indo-Gangetic plain, the air near the ground cools to its dew point and becomes saturated. The extra vapour condenses as dense fog.
Don't confuse with
- Dew point: this is a temperature, the one at which air becomes saturated. Saturated air is the state the air reaches at that temperature.