The phenomenon of the dew point is truly amazing in its simplicity. It can be observed on a regular basis, and it presupposes a change in the state of water, one of the most common chemical compounds on the Earth – or, to be more exact, the most common one (Lutgens and Tarbuck “Heating the Atmosphere” 378). Weirdly enough, the issue is quite difficult for people to grasp. Perhaps, it is the mentioning of the barometric pressure that causes people to misinterpret or forget one of the basic processes taking place in the atmosphere. In fact, a range of students do not regard the information about the dew point as important or significant.
The importance of knowing about the dew point can be demonstrated with the help of the following scenario. There is no secret that, knowing about the dew point and its relation to the temperature, one can predict the possibility of fog rather precisely. Consequently, a range of road accidents may occur due to the inability to use the information concerning the dew point in order to analyze the weather conditions.
Another example that does not show just as drastic consequences as the first one, yet demonstrates the importance of knowing what the dew point is, a scenario involving changes in the body perspiration system should be considered. For example, if a person is unaware of the process mentioned above and sets an additional source of humidity in the room, where the temperature is rather low, the risks of the person in question to develop health issues, including difficulties with breathing, rheumatism, etc. become quite possible.
The jokes about the weather forecast transcend cultural and ethnic boundaries; it seems that the issue truly is international, and the accuracy of weather forecasts is equally low in every corner of the world. Much to the credit of weather forecasters, they often provide rather precise information about the changes that are about to take place, as well as major events, such as storm, a snowfall, etc.
However, For the most part, the accuracy of weather forecasts leaves much to be desired. Despite the obvious comedy surrounding the issue, one must admit that the task of a person creating weather forecasts is, in fact, very complicated. Not only does one have to take into account every single factor that may affect the weather in the specified region, including both global and local factors, but also the slightest changes in the rates of H2O percentage in the atmosphere.
The latter being quite prone to rapid changes, frequent mistakes made by weather forecasters become quite understandable. Indeed, it is practically impossible to measure not only the exact amount of water that is evaporated per second, but also to define the effects that the evaporation process is going to have on the weather in a specific region.
True, certain forecasts, such as the possibility of a heavy rain or snow, can be predicted rather easily based on the rates of humidity in the air and, therefore, the speed of evaporation; however, since the dew point may shift from lower to higher temperature, the task of a weather forecaster must be extremely difficult. More to the point, it is crucial to take the dew point, the humidity rates, the temperature and the atmospheric pressure into account to make a more or less accurate forecast (Lutgens and Tarbuck “Moisture, Clouds and Perspiration” 414).
Works Cited
Lutgens, Frederick K. and Edward J.Tarbuck. “Heating the Atmosphere.” Foundations of Earth Science. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 2014. 373– 408. Print.
—. “Moisture, Clouds and Perspiration.” Foundations of Earth Science. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 2014. 409 – 444. Print.