Does temperature feel hotter the higher the elevation?

Question

Will, for instance, 100f feel a lot hotter if you lived at 1000m above sea level as opposed to 100f at sea level?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Temperature “feels like” depends on actual temperature, humidity, and solar radiation (direct sunlight hitting you).

High elevations tend to be clearer, dryer, and sunnier. Dry air causes higher highs and lower lows. My experience has been the humidity decreases make the temps feel cooler, except during the hottest summer afternoons when you really get baking.

Answer 2

It would feel about the same. The pressure would be lower and the air would be drier, so sweating would be easier so sweating would be easier, so you could likely last longer in high temperatures at high elevations.

You would also not habe as much oxygen available to you, so extended periods of activity would be difficult (in the heat or otherwise)

Answer 3

So while it’s true that the actual temperature is the main driver of how hot it feels, the air is a lot thinner at higher altitudes and that can have an impact on our perceptions of things.

The thinner air means it’s a lot easier to get sunburn, and things around you heat up faster (because less air molecules are absorbing the incoming energy). I’ve lived in high altitude, and it’s crazy the difference in sunscreen necessary compared to sea level, it’s like every couple hours at high altitude, and it feels like a once or twice a day thing at sea level.

At the same time though, things at high altitudes lose their heat faster as well, so you get a lot of rapid heat rising throughout the day, and then rapid heat drop-off at night.

That more sudden swing from low to high in the morning can make the same temperature ‘feel’ hotter at higher altitudes, both just due to what our brains got used to and because stuff like park benches are absorbing and emitting more heat, sidewalks, etc., but if you were to stay at the same temperature and get used to it, then teleport to sea level of the same temperature, it would likely feel about the same (if you could match other variables like humidity as well).