Why Does Humidity Make It Feel Hotter?
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- Опубліковано 31 лип 2017
- It turns out there's a scientific explanation behind the saying, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity!" Learn why a hot and humid day feels so dismal and some tips to avoid the really sweaty, gross days on today's Quick Question!
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Sources:
media.bom.gov.au/social/blog/1...
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebite...
www.weather.gov/arx/why_dewpoi...
www.atmos.umd.edu/~stevenb/va...
hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/...
www.dpcalc.org/
I hate humidity. Feels like you're walking around in someone's breath
did you have to say that? im cursed now.
Jokes on you I live in a country where it’s always 70-100% humidity and the feelslike temp is usually 7*c higher than it actually is
@@SinSnxpes
At least Australia was historically hot so the infrastructure was built to live in that kind of climate. England meanwhile is now hot enough to grow grapes and we still have all the same style buildings with no air conditioning built in.
Competitive Antagonist True
@@SinSnxpes
Just from a brief look online it seems Austrailia is more humid in the winter than the summer. Though it depends on where you live. Humidity seems higher in costal regions.
"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.
We have 100% humidity right now in Umeå, Sweden. It's 8°C though so it's actually nice outside
Tebbe1997 Soooo. . . It's raining? :p
No, it just means the air is saturated
Tebbe1997 100% humidity means it’s raining dude
Left atrium size
Left atrium size
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.
StealthyDani in Korea Sounds like fall and spring are your friends
Boogity Bear Do you really think that she would have youtube in North Korea? She is probably in the South Korea.
StealthyDani in Korea upstate New York is like that too thats whyI want to move to the NorthWest!
Come to HongKong sometime .. u will still feel home (Korea) ...
Try being in Tokyo in August and July CRAZY humid levels
Well, the wind also matters a lot. Seriously important to mention as well.
Yellow well if it's too hot the wind doesn't really help
@@johonanandrewgomes7593 I imagine that would be true at or above 37 degrees.
@@DANGJOS yeah, especially if its humid
@@shyshka_ But wind with high temperatures is very dangerous because of the forest fires and Portugal in the summer often registers temperatures above 43° especially in the interior.
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.
It’s been 4 years and I’m your only like
We have the same thing in the US but it’s referred as heat index.
As a meteorologist, I wanted to say that this topic was handled extremely well! Much better than most explanations. Thank you, SciShow! ^_^
It feels hotter because *The Sun is a Deadly Lazer*
[Yoshikage_Kira] Not anymore, theres a blanket.
[Yoshikage_Kira] *laser (its an acronym it's pretty important you spell with an s good reference none the less)
+John Stevens it's a reference to a video on UA-cam called "history of the entire world, I guess", and in that video they spell it lazer. I know that's not the proper spelling, but people are using lazer when they quote that video because the video uses that spelling for dramatic effect.
DreadKyller *when you have to explain the joke to, sigh -_-
DreadKyller I just didn't know how to spell laser
Which is probably due to all the memes
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.
yea we have that in Canada just says feels like next to the temperature very very helpful in the winter when we get like -25C but feels like in the -30s
7GehirneUndKeinsGeht
Yea I'm Canadian and I was pretty confused by this whole thing tbh. Because weather apps always have a "feels like" thing that factors in sunlight, wind, humidity, etc. And growing up I remember always being told things like "it's 27°, but 35° with the humidex." when getting the weather from TV, parents, radio, etc.
In the U.S., we have what's called "heat index" in most of our warm weather forecasts.
The formula for calculating the heat index is here: www.weather.gov/ama/heatindex
(Scroll to the bottom)
This page also has a chart that shows estimated heat indexes.
7GehirneUndKeinsGeht yeah it's the heat index. Say for example is is 105F here in my town the heat index will be 110F because it will feel hotter.
I think they also take wind into consideration because it makes it look cooler.
I used to worry about hot and humid weather. Now, I just don't sweat it.
Kek
cool. no, wait, that one's too easy....don't know weather my sense of humor is dry enough to come up with a better one.
ba-DUM-tish!
schadenfreudebuddah
Moist of the time your humor is very dry. I'll just have to wet for it.
Master Therion ba-dum-tish
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!
What about this summer???
I love Hank, he's become one of the best presenters on youtube and is constantly a joy to watch
who asked you?
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,
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.
Yeah, the "Feels Like" temperature or Heat Index is more important. 90° days with a dew point of 60° (40% humidity) feel comfortable
You must be in eastern Montana, I have never felt humid air in my entire life growing up in western Montana, it’s always dry and the wind makes it feel cooler than the actual temperature. I prefer more humid air as humid air is easier to breathe in and keeps my skin moisturized, my skin gets very dry in the fall and winter months.
@@Formanuser No, I live in the western part. It's usually fairly dry here. It only gets 80%+ at night, but that doesn't matter because nights are cool.
Thank you for using the metric system. -The rest of planet Earth
*Here in Asia, all countries use the metric system.*
*US imperial system is so outdated.*
@Julian Mahoney Uk still uses miles fyi
Yeah, idk why but, we have a mix. Like, you can weight your flour in KG (metric) but the speed limit on a motorway is 70 Mph(imperial)
There's a metric system? Lol
Agreed
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.
I love how you guys use Celsius... Thank you!!!
I hate that
@@omar.Lo714every place uses Celsius minus America lol
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
I thought it said humanity when I read it, I'm an idiot.
This is a great video. I have always wondered about this. Great explanation!
This is so helpful! Thank you for everything you do for us viewers!
Here in Minnesota the summers often have a dew point of 60 or higher. Funny to hear 23 as feeling muggy.
Good joke.
Dear God, thank you for hearing my prayers about the Celcius scale.
This video made my life complete.
Celsius sucks. Too many decimals and negatives.
Fareinheit sucks. Too inconvenient in outdated. Celsius is easy. 0 degrees= freezing point of water. 100 degrees = boiling point of water. How is that difficult.
Tell me again how the boiling point even matters in weather? No place on Earth has reached an air temp of 100 C..
32 is not a hard number to remember. Fahrenheit is much better cuz it goes from 0-100 on a scale which is constant. 100 is very hot, 0 is very cold, negatives are reserved for Arctic cold and triple digits for extreme heat. The boiling point argument is null. We're not talking about cooking. Btw boiling point changes with altitude and pressure (freezing does too but less dramatically)
@IMarkovic1995 0-100 scales are superior. Boiling point is irrelevant for weather. Not even Death Valley has ever reached 100 C. You will never need 100 C for weather but you need 100 F. 90%+ of the time people care about temperature its weather. Celsius is a perfectly good waste of numbers.
@IMarkovic1995 Why should 10 and 15 feel so different? They are literally a 5 degree difference. That's like expecting 1975 to me super different from 1970 lol. Celsius is too drastic.
This video helped me understand "Dew Point" so thank you very much for this video Hank. 😍😘
Thanks that was super helpful!
Wait... Did I miss something? Why no mention that the increase of moisture in the air holds and transfers more energy faster than dry air??
It's the same reason why a dry sauna can be much hotter than a steam room but not feel as bad, why you can be outside in 120F in the desert but in a hot tub of the same temp you'll likely die, and why holding a piece of cold plastic will feel warmer than a piece of metal of the same temperature.
BucksterMcgee That is what I thought the whole video was going to be, heat transfer coefficients. We're not always sweating so the evaporation effect only makes sense in very high temperatures and/or when exercising. Seems strange they'd completely miss that point.
BucksterMcgee I believe humid air actually has a lower thermal conductivity even though that seems to go against intuition; the difference is so minor though that it can be ignored, in most cases
+BucksterMcgee According to this: www.electronics-cooling.com/2003/11/the-thermal-conductivity-of-moist-air/
thermal conductivity in humid air is indeed lower than in dry air.
Interesting. Then I suppose sweating must occur at low levels just based on temperature, even when remaining still. So it's the lack of heat transfer from body to air, not an increased effect of air to body. Does the same logic apply to cold? Based on that graph the lower the temperature the less effect water content has on heat transfer. We can all agree humid cold air "feels" colder than dry cold air, or I am just imagining that? The body is obviously not attempting to sweat at the other end of the temperature spectrum, so what is going on here? Maybe it's just on days with >100% RH, aka rain or fog, that people notice it.
zecc81 perhaps fog settles down on your skin, clothes etc and then evaporates again, making it feel colder than it actually is, just like what it'd feel like if you sweated unusually strong while it's cold
Thank you for the explanation and specially for using celsius
Makes me feel so smart when I guess the answer correctly before the video, usually I am way off base but I managed to nail this one. Maybe I heard it before and forgot but I'm gonna stick to thinking I figured it out on my own.
I live in a hot climate and I’m always fooled when the forecast shows 28°C(82°F) but it feels like 33°C(91°F)instead.... I was always so excited to see the forecast showing a cool 24°C(75°F) but INSTEAD it feels way warmer than that... reality is often disappointing I Guess.
The dewpoint is high in both Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Seth M Yes and it still remains hot even after it lowers down. At least it's a dry heat?
"If the dew point is above 18 degrees Celsius, it's going to start to feel sticky and gross." AKA 95% of the year in Florida.
YES.
Excellent video. Thank you for the research.
This is such an informative and useful video to understand our world and Hank is wearing a shirt that I LOVE A+ content
I only realised near the end of the vid they actually used Celsius! Thank god, I didn't have to Google 'Murica-Temp :P
LOL!!
I really like the phrasing "When you need to cool down, your blood vessels open up, letting blood flow to your arms and legs" implying that when it's cool outside, there's actually no blood in your limbs
Yah they are wrong about that. This is the product of copy and paste from internet haha
it should be "When you need to cool down, your blood vessels open up, letting more blood flow to your arms and legs"
Nobody with common sense would think that, though. Shouldn't even cross your mind, unless you're a passive aggressive dickhead.
Great info!
The dew point here in NC right now is 78° 80% Humidity. 88°F
Sunny and feels like a sauna.
I don't like humid heat because your deodorant starts melting off, everyone is sticky, you can only wear cotton clothes and they'll still feel damp five minutes out the door!, your hair does the most, you always feel like you're suffocating, ugh just no!
I'm assume most of your ancestors aren't from the tropics?
Dew point, got it. Thanks!
Guys, you are so great!
Thanks a lot
This is super helpful
That would explain why it's nice in Georgia right now (as of August 1, 2017). The dew point is at 19° today.
Dang that's cold
This whole Celsius/Fahrenheit thing is making me crazy! Please give equivalents no matter what system you are using. Thank you.
I live in Mumbai and you have no idea how badly I needed to know this!! Tysm
i've been curious since yesterday n suddenly it comes up in my notification blesssssss
Miami always has like 500% humidity 😧
Alex C literally impossible
GamingW/O Friends Have you been to Florida? It may not be literally possible, but it sure feels like it.
Primalxbeast 500% humidity literally means 500 percent of the air you breath has water vapor
GamingW/O Friends please tell me your joking, if not search up what over exaggeration is
Alex C it's raining rn in the part of Miami where i live XD
Hmmmmm...
I will do a thing now I rarely do. And it's to post to SciShow that they missed out on a BIG part of the explanation. Which also made them make a mistake in the title.
Humidity does NOT ALWAYS make it feel hotter. Anyone living in a cold country like Canada or Norway will know this. When it's cold, And we're talking
that was a well explained useful topic, thanks scishow
i wondered this too. thanks for answering this!
Life in Florida... I call it swamp weather. I can't stand it. What's the point of spending an hour on my hair and make up when I melt as soon as I step outside? I ask myself that, everyday.
In Arizona, everything makes it feel hot!
Don't worry you have arizona tea :D
very helpful love this video
I thought I knew the answer but turns out I didn't. That's why I like this channel, it's always making me examine the processes happening all around me when it's so easy to just accept things as they are and not look deeper.
2:10 "The higher the doo point, the grosser you'll feel..." Of course.
GiggitySam Entz dwed! Lol
GiggitySam Entz do the dew!
I live in Louisiana. Soo, I literally don't know what "no humidity " feels like.
Great video, thank you.
So many weather episodes lately!!! My meteorologist heart is happy.
Today's humidity forecast: The air is my ocean.
Great video.
Haha. Hanging out at Barnes and Noble reading books is one of my favorite things to do. Good times! :D
30 Celsius = 85 Fahrenheit. Your Welcome!
You're welcome!
86
Its actually 86 degrees farenheit
Thanks for using Celsius instead of the useless one.
Wish they would put Fahrenheit for us barbarians in parentheses at least!
love the shirt. Looking sharp hank
SciShow: answering all the questions I've wondered about before, but never got an answer for !
You should watch "Today I Found Out" They answer all the questions you never knew you'd want to ask
*So the point is try to avoid the Dew!*
*Mountain Dew will give you the runs!*
Answer: because science
ScienceAIR I'll wait for you to become famous
Anirudh Padhy why does Spider Man stick to walls
BECAUSE SCIENCE
Anirudh Padhy because science by kyle hill
SUUPRIISE LIGHTSABAA!
Anirudh Padhy but the question is, what is that science
That last line really got me thinking. Barns and Noble reminded me of the days I would hang out in Borders after school... hopefully bookstores will always be around.
I lived in singapore. When i went to a even warmer country but with much lower humidity, it was like a chill weather for me
Can anyone say south Florida
South Florida.
Jesus christ its Jesus christ
why would anyone want to.
Is that a tongue-twister? Seems pretty easy to me!
I should point out that this works both ways. With lower temps feeling a lot colder too as humidity increases. I think close to 30 degrees humidity makes the least difference and the further you go the colder or hotter it feels.
I live in Abbotsford, British Columbia. I was recently in Nevada, Texas, Utah, New Mexico...and Arizona. While those were hot, it is about as hot here right now and much more humid. I always prefer when it gets cooler.
The Humidex which, I just learned is a Canada thing, uses dew point to calculate humidity comfort. I’ve generally found it accurately conveys the level of comfort or dis to expect.
It's not the Humidity. it's the Dew point. In the Middle of the Winter. the Humidity can be in the 70's-80's.
Dew point is what We Feel.
Did you watch the video
Some people will walk out of an air conditioned building out into the blistering hot and humid air and say "It's a beautiful day". I don't understand how someone can be so optimistic, when the "heat index" is over 100*F (such as 112*F heat index). To me, a beautiful day, is when you can be outside and feel like you are in a cozy climate controlled zone, like 60*f - 73*f with clouds to protect you from sunburns and proper humidity so you don't dehydrate and don't sweat. I don't like when the weather, makes being outside for several hours (especially if working), a miserable experience. I hope we have a long cloudy cold winter this year. I LOVE hearing people complain about it being "too hot outside" because growing up as a kid, all I heard was people talking about how wonderful the hottest time of the year is and how horrible winter is. It's like I watched commercials and everyone is excited and happy because It's the most physically painful time of the year, so let's all go outside and celebrate. When the weather is mild, we might as well stay inside and be sad. Logical? Well, it isn't logical to me. I highly doubt these people who love the heat so much, turn their heater on year-round, to get their house between 100*f and 120*f, and yet they act like it's a good thing...
Jay H Same here in the Philippines where weather forecasters say that it'll be good weather tomorrow at full sunshine and almost 40 deg C heat index, like WTF? How is that good weather when everyone is almost near a heat stroke and can't work without A/C. It's even related to the cycle of poverty here. Not all workplaces have A/Cs (because power is expensive AF here) and you won't expect 100% productivity when the temperatures are high. Waste of working hours. Waste of money paid to employees. Slower progress.
What's good weather in South East Asia? When ITCZ comes around and we get to enjoy a few weeks of cloud cover and rain drizzles. Everyone's happy. No one's hotheaded because of the heat.
My favorite science channel. Thank you.
I, as a Floridian, am well aware of public enemy #1: humidity
On behalf of Canada, thanks for the *Celsius* Scishow! ;)
+Mike Belcourt....I thought your prime minister (Trudeau) proudly proclaimed "there is no core identity" nor any "mainstream in Canada"....So what do you care?
its just what I'm used to, that's all? =/
I need Fahrenheit!!!!
Mike Belcourt Not just Canada, the rest of the world too. USA is one of the only few countries that still use fahrenheit.
on behalf of most of the world, thank you for the celsius, scishow!! ;)
Watching this in 90% humidity + no air conditioner. Makes you desperate
I just saw this for the first time and so I went and checked my dew point. Well if 18 feels muggy, my 24 most feel great. Love Florida weather
This video was published the same day marching band practice started and it's really hot... thanks for the info
One word: Florida
Two words - A dog.
Hello, SciShow! Do you think you could make a video explaining the current knowledge of cerebral aneurysms? I had one rupture at 19 and after learning so much about them, I would love for a bigger audience to learn of them!
could you also please explain this effect in the below freezing point side of the spectrum as well?
Times like these I'm glad I live West of the Rockies. No humidity problems here!
In Canada, we have humidex. A calculated apparent temperature.
It always gets humid when my cousin walks into the room
I live in California and when it is 110F it is bearable, however, when I went to tokyo and it was only around 85F-90F it felt like literal hell due to the humidity, lack of air conditioning, ton of walking, crowds of people, etc.
great info. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Didn't use F, now wearing a winter coat in 90F weather
Candi Soda well you'd literally die in 90C.... water boils at 100... no living organism could survive 90. (Except perhaps tardigrades)
Americans: What's that temp in Fahrenheit?
American Scientists: Sorry about them ( yells, get back in the corner, to the Americans)
Actually Fahrenheit is more precise and has more intervals than celsius so its better for temperature.
35 C is cold? Right?
Angry Cinnamon Toast lol
When I searched this I said ouloud "if only crash course had the answer" but here you are so I'm happy
Interestingly, the relative humidity is often given for seas level conditions. This means, in certain areas below sea level (like Houston) relative humidity will occasionally be slightly above 100% and there still not be rain, dew, or fog. This can also occur in supersaturation, where there is nothing for the air to condense onto, and it's true relative humidity is above 100%, but that doesn't happen in Houston
People who live in Southeast Asia: 😎😎😎
Again, thank you so much for using metric units.
Fun fact: there are almost the same number of non-American English speakers in the world than American english speakers. And they all use the metric system.
kropotkin did nothing wrong.
05x32 Correction, Stalin did nothing wrong.
fight!
Obr Kenobi I really wish they would put fahrenheit in parentheses too for us in the US.
The rest of the world may use °C, but the only part that matters uses °F.
Nice shirt hank. Looks fresh
I loved this video.
90% humidity in Miami, Florida when its 90 it feels like 120 degrees...yeah.
what? 120 is above boiling point of water. You will literally die in that temperature.
gaydicks420 no you won't. 100C is the boiling point of water. 100F is very hot but won't cause death in almost all cases.
100c/212f is water's boiling point...
More like 8,000,000,000°F...
アキラ I think he meant 120 degrees Fahrenheit
Because Hank makes me wet.... Wait-
This is the third time that SciShow uploads a video related to my searches on google. Coincidence?
That shirt is awesome!!!
Extra like for using Celsius!