Q1.
The amount of water vapour in the air is also known as humidity. The daily humidity data for your area is reported in the newspapers and other sources. Compile the data for the year and study any patterns, if present.
Answer
How to do it:
- Keep a notebook with three columns — Date, Maximum humidity (%), Minimum humidity (%). Many newspapers print both; some print only one figure.
- Note the value every day at the same time from the same source — the weather column of the newspaper, the IMD website, or a school weather station.
- At the end of every month, work out the monthly average and mark it as a point on a graph: months along the bottom, humidity up the side. Join the points.
- On the same sheet, mark the months of the monsoon in your region.
The pattern you are likely to find in most of India:
| Season | Typical humidity | What you notice |
|---|---|---|
| Peak summer (April–May, inland) | Low, often 20–40 % | Clothes dry very fast; the matka cools water well |
| Monsoon (June–September) | High, often 80–95 % | Clothes smell damp and take a whole day to dry |
| Winter (December–January) | Moderate; high at dawn, low by afternoon | Heavy dew and fog in the morning |
Why the daily figure changes so much: humidity is usually highest just before sunrise and lowest in the afternoon. The air holds nearly the same amount of vapour all day, but warm afternoon air can hold much more, so the air is further from being full — and evaporation speeds up.
Tip: Coastal cities such as Chennai, Mumbai and Kochi stay humid for most of the year, while Jaipur, Nagpur and Delhi swing between very dry summers and very humid monsoons. Compare your graph with a friend's from another town.