What is the hottest temperature that a human can survive without dying? I’ve heard people are in certain parts of California and it 122 degrees Ferenheit. Is it physically possible for a human body to withstand that type of heat?
In: Biology
The short answer is that for a prolonged period of time the “wet bulb temperature ” must be a little bit below the human body’s temperature (and you have to be in the shade).
The wet bulb temperature, is the temperature a wet cloth with ample ventilation reaches – ie the lowest possible temperature to reach via evaporation. If ambient humidity is high, evaporation is less effective. So you can endure the highest temperatures at zero percent humidity (ie extremely dry heat).
The human body can only cool itself via evaporation, so when it becomes impossible to cool the body to its natural temperature via evaporation, it will gradually overheat.
At 90 degree Celsius (194 degree Fahrenheit) the wet bulb temperature at zero percent ambient humidity is around 2 degrees below the body temperature, so that would be my estimate for the highest possible temperature a human can endure over a long period.
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