Why is wet bulb temperature important? How does it effect us?

Question

Edit: Thank you all for the detailed answers! You guys are awesome.

In: 2953

Answer 1

The short answer is it is the measurement we use to determine if human life is sustainable outdoors.

The way humans keep cool is by sweating, the sweat evaporates into the air and cools our skin. If there is too much humidity in the air the sweat doesn’t evaporate and we can’t cool ourselves and we could overheat and die.

Wet bulb temps measure the temperature and humidity on a scale that we can accurately assess the point at which we will die outside if left without a way to cool down.