• virr@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      37
      ·
      1 year ago

      It isn’t the temperature, it’s the humidity.

      Wet bulb is a way measure how much evaporative cooling you can have. Once wet bulb gets to 95°F even a healthy fit individual will die given enough time even in the shade with a fan. It might be 112 but as long as the wet bulb stays below 95°F your body can cool with sweat. Any higher wet bulb the human body only heats up from the environment and can no longer cool, eventually leading to fatal hyperthermia (heat exhaustion and heat stroke).

    • jerkface@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      That is exactly the conditions humans are adapted for: high arid heat. We are the world champions of sweating to stay cool, but that does nothing in humid weather. At high humidity, the temperature only needs to be near body temperature to kill you.

    • Revan343@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      1 year ago

      That’s likely dry bulb temperature. Wet bulb temperature is lower except at 100% humidity