Water vapour self-continuum in near-visible IR absorption bands: Measurements and semiempirical model of water dimer absorption

•H2O self-continuum absorption spectra are retrieved within 8800 and 10,600 cm−1 bands.•Water dimers could be responsible for up to 50% of the observed H2O self-continuum.•Possible additional contributors to the H2O self-continuum are discussed.•Continuum in atmospheric conditions is derived using effective water dimer parameters.•Calculated atmospheric absorption of solar radiation increases relative to MT_CKD3.2.