eli5: how is more water in the air(high-humidity) not equal to feeling cool?
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Your body cools off by sweating, which is when water evaporates from the surface of your skin. Water can’t evaporate if the air is already saturated (humid), so you can’t cool off.
You often hear people say “it isn’t the heat, it’s the humidity” The reason why is because higher humidity limits the ability of sweat to evaporate. In the Gulf Coast states you can be sweating like crazy, completely drenched with sweat dripping off you because it won’t evaporate. In a more dry area you’re sweating just as much, but it’s evaporating much faster so you feel cooler
It can. Air is an insulator for heat, water is a conductor. More humidity means you exchange heat more easily with the environment and there’s more potential for the air to hold heat energy.
When it’s hot this makes it harder for you to shed heat into the air, because sweat doesn’t evaporate. But when it’s cold, you actually lose heat to the air much faster.
If you’re wet and cold, it’s much worse than just being cold.
e: it’s just not really as much as a concern, when it’s 33C and 100% humidity, people will die. When it’s 5C and 100% humidity, it’s foggy
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