We all had this argument with a friend about which heat is more uncomfortable: wet or dry heat? As a rule, every person is worse with those who do not have it. Those who live in coastal areas find the dry heat to be more uncomfortable, while those living inland have a terrible tolerance for humidity. Basically it’s a matter of survival. If you don’t get used to the type of heat you’re most exposed to, you’ll be very sick. But the truth is that there is a type of heat where the heat sensation is much stronger: humid heat.
It doesn’t matter if we’re used to it or not. It is clear that in areas with humid heat, we often feel uncomfortable and sticky. With dry heat, you also sweat, but it seems that this sweat comes off our body more easily. And it’s not just a feeling. It’s true.
The thermal sensation at very high air humidity is always higher than the actual temperature. Therefore, the thermometer can show 30 ° C, and we feel that it was 40. This does not mean that dry heat is comfortable, it is far from being the case. But it’s true that embarrassed feeling much more correlated with wet. Now it remains only to find out why.
Wind chill and damp heat
people are animals homeotherms. This means that we have mechanisms that allow us to maintain body temperature within certain limits, despite the cold or heat in the environment. In our case, this temperature is about 36.5°C, although it was previously said that it was 37°C. But how to make it so that it does not change much under the influence of cold, like Philomena, or heat?
Mainly through sweating and blood flow control. When it’s very cold blood vessels constrictby slowing down the blood flow to keep the body warm and prevent our body from getting cold. On the other hand, when it is very hot outside, the opposite happens. I don’t just know increases blood flow by dilating veins and arteries. It also cools the body through sweating, which occurs in two phases. The first, sweat is released through the skin. Subsequently, this evaporates in a process that requires the release of heat from the body.
So far so good, but there is a problem. Evaporation of sweat occurs because moisture is transferred to the surrounding air. However, if this air is already very humid, it will not be able to absorb more water. Thus, sweat does not evaporate, and the cooling process with sweat is only half done. We will feel sticky and, even worse, the heat sensation will be much stronger because we will not be able to adequately cool the body.
Happens with a cold too
The thermal sensation can be very different from the actual temperature, even when we are talking about the cold.
In this case, it is not so much about humidity, but about wind. And the fact is that, in addition to the mechanisms mentioned above, people also have air insulating layer which prevents us from losing too much heat. It’s not as effective as seal oil, but we don’t need it.
The problem is what the wind can do let’s lose some of this layer. That’s why when it was a long time ago, we feel the cold more. In short, the thermal sensation is much lower than the actual temperature.
We already see that humidity and wind are our big enemies. Those who oppose this Swiss clockwork, home termia. Fortunately, alarming limits are not usually reached, although there are times when the situation becomes so extreme that we can go into hypothermia or heat stroke.
That is why we must follow the appropriate advice, both to protect against the cold and to deal with high temperatures. In the meantime, if you have to argue about which heat is worse again, remember: damp heat is what makes the atmosphere go through the roof. thermal sensation. If you live in an arid area, this is probably no consolation, but at least you know. Knowledge does not exist.
Source: Hiper Textual
