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The temperature at which an air parcel with a specified water vapor partial pressure first becomes saturated on cooling at fixed pressure. It solves $E(T_D)=e_v$ with saturation pressure $E$. A falling dew point during ascent does not by itself imply loss of water vapor.

The difference between air temperature and its dew point. For unsaturated air it is positive. Near terrestrial surface conditions, a closed ascending parcel's lifting condensation level is approximately $125\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{K}}^{-1}$ times this difference, because its temperature decreases about $8\mathrm{K}\mathrm{k}{\mathrm{m}}^{-1}$ faster than its dew point.

Let $e_v$ be the parcel's water vapor partial pressure. Fixed mole fraction before condensation means $e_v/p$ is constant. Its dew point $T_D$ is defined by $E(T_D)=e_v$, where $E$ is the saturation pressure. The Clausius-Clapeyron relation givesThe last approximation uses hydrostatic balance, the ideal gas law, and an environmental temperature close to the parcel's. Rearrangement yieldsFor a modest initial dew-point depression, $T_D/T\simeq 1$ in absolute temperature, soWith $L_v\simeq 2.5\times 10^6\mathrm{J}\mathrm{k}{\mathrm{g}}^{-1}$, $R_d\simeq 287\mathrm{J}\mathrm{k}{\mathrm{g}}^{-1}{\mathrm{K}}^{-1}$, and $R_v\simeq 461.5\mathrm{J}\mathrm{k}{\mathrm{g}}^{-1}{\mathrm{K}}^{-1}$, $H\simeq 1.58\times 10^5\mathrm{m}$. This dew point scale is much longer than the atmospheric pressure scale height.

The exponential function is an approximation, not the exact consequence of a dry adiabatic process. Retaining $T=T_s-{\Gamma }_{d}z$ gives $p/p_s=(T/T_s{)}^{c_p/R_d}$ and the useful comparisonIt also shows explicitly that expansion lowers the dew point even before any water vapor condenses.

At the lifting condensation level, the parcel temperature first equals its dew point. For $z/H\ll 1$, the first-order Taylor expansion gives $T_D\simeq T_{D,s}(1-z/H)$. Equating this with the dry-adiabatic process result givesNear terrestrial surface temperatures, $T_{D,s}/H\simeq 1.7$–$1.9\mathrm{K}\mathrm{k}{\mathrm{m}}^{-1}$, whereas ${\Gamma }_d\simeq 9.8\mathrm{K}\mathrm{k}{\mathrm{m}}^{-1}$. ConsequentlyUse absolute temperature for $T_{D,s}/H$. The temperature difference can be evaluated in kelvins or degrees Celsius, whose increments agree. The coefficient is an approximate near-surface terrestrial value, not independent of composition or ambient conditions for all atmospheres.