Why Does Humidity Make It Feel Hotter?
715,969
Published 2017-08-01
Hosted by: Hank Green
----------
Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: www.patreon.com/scishow
----------
Dooblydoo thanks go to the following Patreon supporters—Alexander Wadsworth, Kevin Bealer, Mark Terrio-Cameron, KatieMarie Magnone, Patrick Merrithew, Charles Southerland, Fatima Iqbal, Sultan Alkhulaifi, Tim Curwick, Scott Satovsky Jr, Philippe von Bergen, Bella Nash, Chris Peters, Patrick D. Ashmore, Piya Shedden, Charles George
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook: www.facebook.com/scishow
Twitter: www.twitter.com/scishow
Tumblr: scishow.tumblr.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/thescishow
----------
Sources:
media.bom.gov.au/social/blog/1324/feeling-hot-and-…
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/edexcel…
www.weather.gov/arx/why_dewpoint_vs_humidity
www.atmos.umd.edu/~stevenb/vapor/
hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Kinetic/relhum…
www.dpcalc.org/
All Comments (21)
-
I hate humidity. Feels like you're walking around in someone's breath
-
"If the dew point is above 18C then it's going to start feeling sticky and gross." I checked the dew point for me in Florida and it's currently 23C. So yeah.
-
Humidity is the worst! It takes uncomfortable temperatures and makes them unbearable. I live in Korea and the winters are hella dry and the summers are way too humid. Translation: in the winter I'm constantly suffering from broken capillaries in my nose and dry skin even though I have the humidifier going AND in the summer I'm a hot, sweaty, disgusting mess.
-
In Canada, many weather reports include a "Humidex" value, which uses the dew point to calculate how hot it "feels." I find it really reliable. For example, it might be 28 degrees Celsius, but the Humidex might be 33 degrees...given the high humidity, it feels like 33. And "Humidex" is an awesome word too.
-
Well, the wind also matters a lot. Seriously important to mention as well.
-
As a meteorologist, I wanted to say that this topic was handled extremely well! Much better than most explanations. Thank you, SciShow! ^_^
-
I used to worry about hot and humid weather. Now, I just don't sweat it.
-
So... Don't you have "felt temperature" in forecasts in the USA? In Germany they always say something like "18 degrees, feels like 21 degrees", taking humidity, windchill and intensity of sunshine into consideration. Makes it pretty easy to know what to expect.
-
It feels hotter because The Sun is a Deadly Lazer
-
I'm old enough to remember Farenheit in England but, for the past 30+ years, we've used Celsius, and I've become more familiar with that. It's great to see a simple explanation about humidity, plus explained in the 'international' standard of Celsius.
-
Can confirm humidity makes a MASSIVE difference. Summers in the midwest were absolutely unbearable even when it was 70 (which was rare, it was usually 90 - 105). 75F in humid Missouri genuinely felt like 90F in dry-summer Montana. Case in point, it's actually a little humid today here in Montana (60% humidity), and the 80F feels around 85F instead. But a few days ago it was 90F with only 15-20% humidity and that actually felt like 80, maybe even 1-2 degrees cooler.
-
In Louisiana, when the relative humidity matches the temperature (for example, 90 degrees Fahrenheit) it’s bad. Also, we have something called the Heat Index, the equivalent of the Wind Chill Factor. So we can have a forecast of 90 degrees with a Heat Index of 105. That’s when it’s really bad
-
This has been incredibly helpful for me here in central PA where it feels like we're swimming in the ocean. This has been the most 'humid' summer I can remember. It is insane. I'm glad to have an accurate tool in my arsenal to help gauge the outside temperature better. Thanks Hank!
-
I love Hank, he's become one of the best presenters on youtube and is constantly a joy to watch
-
What about during cold? I am certain that the Atlantic chill in humid, 0C winter cold in Ireland feels more severe than a biting frost at -10 in say main land Europe,
-
This is a great video. I have always wondered about this. Great explanation!
-
I, as a Floridian, am well aware of public enemy #1: humidity
-
I love how you guys use Celsius... Thank you!!!
-
The dew point here in NC right now is 78° 80% Humidity. 88°F Sunny and feels like a sauna.
-
This is so helpful! Thank you for everything you do for us viewers!
