Millibars to Kilopascals (mbar to kPa)

1 millibar equals 0.1 kilopascals exactly.

How to convert millibars to kilopascals

To convert millibars to kilopascals, multiply the number of millibars by 0.1. This factor is exact. To go the other way, multiply kilopascals by 10.

kilopascals = millibars × 0.1

Example: 10 millibars = 1 kilopascal.

About these units

Millibar (mbar)

Metric (SI)Current unit

One thousandth of a bar, equal to one hectopascal. Standard atmospheric pressure is 1,013.25 mbar.

Millibar and hectopascal are the same pressure with different pedigrees. The millibar was introduced alongside the bar by Vilhelm Bjerknes, and meteorologists worldwide adopted it because the values are convenient: a thousandth of a bar puts ordinary air pressure near 1,000. Standard atmospheric pressure is 1,013.25 millibars.

When SI came in, some meteorologists switched to hectopascals, which carry exactly the same numbers. The millibar did not vanish, though. The symbol mb is still common, and Americans know the unit from US hurricane and cyclone reports.

A few readings give the scale. The record-low non-tornadic pressure of 870 hPa in Typhoon Tip in 1979 equals 870 millibars, and falling pressure of about 12 hPa per 100 meters of altitude means a mountain road can shave tens of millibars off a barometer reading in a short climb.

1 millibar = 100 pascals (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Bar (unit); Wikipedia: Hectopascal; Wikipedia: Atmospheric pressure

Kilopascal (kPa)

Metric (SI)Current unit

1,000 pascals. Used for tire pressures, weather reports in many countries and engineering.

Kilopascal is the form of the pascal that most people actually use. The pascal itself is very small, so outside meteorology the kilopascal became the common choice in most fields, and it equals one centibar. Medical elastography reports tissue stiffness in kPa, and Canada reports atmospheric pressure in kPa rather than hectopascals.

A standard atmosphere is 101.325 kPa. In 1982 IUPAC recommended a different reference for chemistry, a standard pressure of exactly 100 kPa, which split the older convention of 1 atm into two competing standards.

Blood pressure shows how the units line up. One mmHg is 0.13332 kPa, and a normal reading is below about 16.0 kPa systolic and 10.7 kPa diastolic, the same thing as the familiar 120 over 80 in millimeters of mercury.

1 kilopascal = 1,000 pascals (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Pascal (unit); Wikipedia: Standard atmosphere (unit); Wikipedia: Millimetre of mercury

Related conversions

See all pressure units.