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The wet-bulb temperature is the lowest temperature that may be achieved by evaporative cooling of a water-wetted, ventilated surface.. By contrast, the dew point is the temperature to which the ambient air must be cooled to reach 100% relative humidity assuming there is no further evaporation into the air; it is the temperature where condensation (dew) and clouds would form.
The wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) is a measure of environmental heat as it affects humans. Unlike a simple temperature measurement, WBGT accounts for all four major environmental heat factors: air temperature, humidity, radiant heat (from sunlight or sources such as furnaces), and air movement (wind or ventilation). [ 1 ]
‘Wet-bulb temperature’ refers to temperatures taken with a thermometer covered in a wet cloth, which are normally slightly cooler than ‘dry-bulb’ temperatures.
Wet bulb globe temperature is a better indicator of the risk posed by outdoor conditions than either heat index or temperature, experts say.
A wet bulb thermometer also uses evaporative cooling, so it provides a good measure for use in evaluating comfort level. Discomfort also exists when the dew point is very low (below around −5 °C or 23 °F). [citation needed] The drier air can cause skin to crack and become irritated more easily. It will also dry out the airways.
As the planet continues to get hotter, humans are at greater risk for heat-related illness and death but an index aims to avoid such.
An ongoing heat wave in India and Pakistan and rising wet-bulb temperatures could create hot and severely humid conditions that threaten human survivability.
A 2022 study on the effect of heat on young people found that the critical wet-bulb temperature at which heat stress can no longer be compensated, T wb,crit, in young, healthy adults performing tasks at modest metabolic rates mimicking basic activities of daily life was much lower than the 35°C usually assumed, at about 30.55°C in 36–40°C ...