text: Asymmetric top molecules have at most one or more 2-fold rotation axes. There are three unequal moments of inertia about three mutually perpendicular principal axes. The spectra are very complex. The transition wavenumbers cannot be expressed in terms of an analytical formula but can be calculated using numerical methods.
  The water molecule is an important example of this class of molecule, particularly because of the presence of water vapor in the atmosphere. The low-resolution spectrum shown in green illustrates the complexity of the spectrum. At wavelengths greater than 10 μm (or wavenumbers less than 1000 cm) the absorption is due to pure rotation. The band around 6.3 μm (1590 cm) is due to the HOH bending vibration; the considerable breadth of this band is due to the presence of extensive rotational fine structure. High-resolution spectra of this band are shown in Allen and Cross, p 221.  The symmetric and asymmetric stretching vibrations are close to each other, so the rotational fine structures of these bands overlap. The bands at shorter wavelength are overtones and combination bands, all of which show rotational fine structure. Medium resolution spectra of the bands around 1600 cm and 3700 cm are shown in Banwell and McCash, p91.
  Ro-vibrational bands of asymmetric top molecules are classed as A-, B- or C- type for transitions in which the dipole moment change is along the axis of smallest moment of inertia to the highest.