Does water need to be at 100 C to evaporate?

Does water only evaporate at boiling point?

It is a common misconception that water must reach 100 degrees Celsius to turn into vapour. In reality, water molecules are constantly moving and changing state at any temperature.

This happens because water possesses a property known as vapour pressure. Even when conditions are freezing, molecules at the surface can escape into the air as gas. A everyday example of this is when frozen laundry slowly dries outside on a cold, windy sub-zero day.

This exact principle is also used commercially in food preservation through a process called freeze-drying, where moisture is removed from frozen goods without ever needing heat.