Glossary
Relative humidity
The relative humidity specifies the ratio of actual water vapour pressure to that at saturation with respect to liquid water or ice at the same temperature [IPCC, 2013].
Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)
Scenarios that include time series of emissions and concentrations of the full suite of greenhouse gases and aerosols and chemically active gases, as well as land use/land cover. The word representative signifies that each RCP provides only one of many possible scenarios that would lead to the specific radiative forcing characteristics. The term pathway emphasizes that not only the long-term concentration levels are of interest, but also the trajectory taken over time to reach that outcome [IPCC, 2013].
RCP4.5
RCP4.5 one intermediate stabilization pathway in which radiative forcing is stabilized at approximately 4.5 W/m2 and 6.0 W/m2 after 2100 (the corresponding Extended Concentration Pathways (ECPs) assuming constant concentrations after 2150) [IPCC, 2013].
RCP8.5
RCP8.5 one high pathway for which radiative forcing reaches greater than 8.5 W/m2 by 2100 and continues to rise for some amount of time (the corresponding ECP assuming constant emissions after 2100 and constant concentrations after 2250) [IPCC, 2013].