Final answer:
Evaporation in humid climates absorbs heat, hence cooling the environment and limiting temperature extremes. Deserts lack this cooling process due to lower humidity, allowing higher temperatures. High humidity levels lead to a slower evaporation rate, contributing to a more stable temperature range.
Step-by-step explanation:
In humid climates like Florida, the evaporation of water limits extreme temperatures. Evaporation absorbs heat from the environment, which is necessary to change water from liquid to gas, even at temperatures below the boiling point. This energy absorption has a cooling effect on the area, as the heat is used to evaporate water rather than increasing the air temperature. In contrast, deserts have lower humidity, which means less evaporation occurs to provide this cooling effect, allowing temperatures to rise much higher.
Moreover, higher humidity restricts the evaporation rate due to the air already being saturated with water vapor, which further inhibits temperature increases. In comparison to dry air, which promotes evaporation and cooling, humid air provides a sort of temperature buffer, sustaining a more stable but warmer feel due to the slower evaporation rate, as seen with sweat on your skin which doesn’t evaporate as quickly in humid conditions. This stabilization causes temperatures in humid environments to rarely rise above or fall significantly below certain points, which are often dictated by the dew point where condensation starts to occur.