What is the term used for the temperature at which humid air becomes saturated?

The dew point is the term used to describe the temperature at which humid air becomes saturated. At this specific temperature, the air can no longer hold all the moisture in vapor form, leading to condensation and the formation of dew. This is a critical concept in meteorology and aviation, as understanding humidity and saturation is essential for predicting weather conditions and their impact on flight safety.

The dew point provides a direct measurement of the moisture content in the air, indicating the temperature to which air must be cooled for saturation to occur. Thus, when evaluating weather conditions or forecasting, knowing the dew point is vital, as it helps determine cloud formation and precipitation possibilities.

In contrast, the other terms like humidity ratio, relative humidity, and saturation temperature relate to different aspects of atmospheric moisture but do not specifically indicate the temperature of saturation from humid air. The humidity ratio quantifies the mass of water vapor relative to the mass of dry air, while relative humidity expresses how close the air is to saturation in percentage terms. Saturation temperature is a broader thermodynamic term, referring to the temperature at which a substance changes state, but is not specifically about humid air reaching its dew point.