Investigating climate change’s ‘humidity paradox’

Dec 7, 2020

Climate change is altering the quantity of water vapour in the air, and it's throwing nature off-balance. Image: Unsplash/Inge Maria

Dr Kate Willett

Climate scientist, Met Office Hadley Centre

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A chart showing how specific humidity has increased globally since the 1980s on land and at sea.

Global time series of annual average specific humidity for the land (green line), ocean (blue) and global average (dark blue), relative to 1981-2010. Image: Met Office Climate Dashboard

A chart showing how relative humidity has decreased globally since the 1980s on land and at sea.

Global time series of annual average relative humidity for the land (green line), ocean (blue) and global average (dark blue), relative to 1981-2010. Image: Met Office Climate Dashboard

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