I’ve always wondered how come the water in a swimming pool exposed to the scorching midday summer sun feels cooler when you dive, say around 2-3 pm, and warm as tea around 7 pm when the sun has almost gone.
In: Physics
My guess is that since gases change temperature faster than liquids, the water heats up slower than the air above it during the beginning of the day, making the water cooler relative to the air, and then retains that heat for longer than the air above it, making it warmer relative to the air during the early evening.
This is just using my own knowledge of science. Maybe someone else can add more info.
Edit: I believe you could look more into thermodynamics to get more info beyond ELI5.
Midday your body temperature is probably higher and your blood vessels wider. Making the difference greater and thus colder
It takes time for the water to warm up and it retains heat. It’s generally hotter outside at 2pm than noon and water exaggerates that effect.
Not a specialist, but probably for the same reason the air, or the ground in the city, are cooler at midday than in the afternoon: because the time it takes for it to store/absorb the heat. Think “time of exposure to the sun”, rather than “is the sun as its highest”. That’s also why asphalt and air are still hot after the sunset, and usually until 10-11pm in summer, the time for it to release the heat it has stored all day.
Another explanation can be contrast: if the air is hot, the water will seem cold by comparison.
Is it just me or are “midday” and “afternoon” the same thing?
Because while at midday the sun is heating the most -> Change of temperature at its highest, later in the day The water has been exposed to more sunlight in total. -> absolute temperature at its highest.
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