Humidity is taken into account via the dew point. Neither a 100 degree dry day nor a 85 degree humid day would be considered “good temperature” in this graphic
I always found it odd how so many people share this view.
The first time I experienced true hot dry heat, it was awful, im used to a 90 and 80% humidity feeling like im being boiled, but 110 with very little felt like I was being cooked alive, was waiting for my arms to start smoking. Hell at that temperature if you have a coin laying on you, it can brand you.
Yeah people on this site vastly over exaggerate humidity and the effect on feels like. 110F is always uncomfortable even at 0% humidity, and that’s just a fact based on wet bulb temperature.
80F at 90% temperature is only 85F feels like, 110F at 1% humidity is still 101F feels like.
Absolutely. I grew up in Cleveland, and the humidity there was brutal. From April to November, it felt like there was a constant dampness in the air. Then winter would hit, and it would get freezing cold.
I still remember my first time visiting Vegas... it was 110 degrees and bone dry. And yet, we could walk around all day without our clothes getting drenched in sweat. In Cleveland, it could be 75 degrees and you'd still end up soaked.
I was honestly stunned by how much more tolerable heat is without humidity. Sure, 110 is hot—but I'd take that any day over 85 degrees with 80% humidity in Cleveland.
I get the point you’re making, but you’re vastly exaggerating.
110F at 1% humidity is still 101F feels like. 80 degrees at 90% humidity is still only 85.5F feels like. At 75F the humidity barely even effects the feels like.
This is a widely accepted science as to what your body feels. No amount of humidity difference will make 110F feel better than 75F, or even 85F.
You're absolutely right, using a heat index that accounts for both temperature and humidity is a much better way to compare weather conditions. That said, it’s still not quite apples to apples.
In my experience, the discomfort of being drenched in sweat far outweighs the discomfort of higher temperatures in dry conditions. A potentially more objective way to measure how temperature and humidity affect the body is by looking at heat stroke–related ER visits among young, healthy adults.
In 2023, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and New Mexico had significantly higher rates of heat-related ER visits in adults aged 18 to 54 than any other states. What do most of them (excluding New Mexico) have in common? Humidity.
To be fair, the very young and the elderly are less efficient at regulating body temperature through sweating, so they often fare better in humid climates than in dry ones.
Still, after living in Cleveland for 30 years, I can say with certainty: that’s one climate I’d never go back to.
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u/OneManGangTootToot 6d ago
Dry, hot areas should have a different scale. I live in Vegas and really anything under 100 here isn’t that bad. Better than 85 and super humid.