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this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2026
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Temperature is an average. On average the water molecules won't be at boiling temp, but occasionally some of them will be and they will evaporate, and the hotter the water is, the closer that average is to the boiling point, the more it'll happen. Earth's entire water cycle hinges on the fact that water doesn't need to be boiling to evaporate.
You're totally right, I don't think we're disagreeing. Water evaporates at room temperature (and pressure) but it's not the same thing as steam. Water vapour is a mixture of tiny liquid droplets with air, steam (in the sense I'm using the word) is a gas form of water and only forms above 100°C (at standard pressure, a few degrees lower if you're e.g. up a mountain).