Heat index


The heat index is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the shade. The result is also known as the "felt air temperature", "apparent temperature", "real feel" or "feels like". For example, when the temperature is with 70% relative humidity, the heat index is.
The human body normally cools itself by perspiration, or sweating. Heat is removed from the body by evaporation of that sweat. However, high relative humidity reduces the evaporation rate. This results in a lower rate of heat removal from the body, hence the sensation of being overheated. This effect is subjective, with different individuals perceiving heat differently for various reasons ; its measurement has been based on subjective descriptions of how hot subjects feel for a given temperature and humidity. This results in a heat index that relates one combination of temperature and humidity to another.
Because the heat index is based on temperatures in the shade, while people often move across sunny areas, the heat index can give a much lower temperature than actual conditions of typical outdoor activities. Also, for people exercising or active, at the time, then the heat index could give a temperature lower than the felt conditions.

History

The heat index was developed in 1979 by Robert G. Steadman. Like the wind chill index, the heat index contains assumptions about the human body mass and height, clothing, amount of physical activity, individual heat tolerance, sunlight and ultraviolet radiation exposure, and the wind speed. Significant deviations from these will result in heat index values which do not accurately reflect the perceived temperature.
In Canada, the similar humidex is used in place of the heat index. While both the humidex and the heat index are calculated using dew point, the humidex uses a dew point of as a base, whereas the heat index uses a dew point base of. Further, the heat index uses heat balance equations which account for many variables other than vapor pressure, which is used exclusively in the humidex calculation. A joint committee formed by the United States and Canada to resolve differences has since been disbanded.

Definition

The heat index of a given combination of temperature and humidity is defined as the dry-bulb temperature which would feel the same if the water vapor pressure were 1.6 kPa. Quoting Steadman, "Thus, for instance, an apparent temperature of refers to the same level of sultriness, and the same clothing requirements, as a dry-bulb temperature of with a vapor pressure of 1.6 kPa."
This vapor pressure corresponds for example to an air temperature of and relative humidity of 40% in the sea-level psychrometric chart, and in Steadman's table at 40% RH the apparent temperature is equal to the true temperature between. At standard atmospheric pressure, this baseline also corresponds to a dew point of and a mixing ratio of 0.01.
A given value of relative humidity causes larger increases in the heat index at higher temperatures. For example, at approximately, the heat index will agree with the actual temperature if the relative humidity is 45%, but at, any relative-humidity reading above 18% will make the heat index higher than.
It has been suggested that the equation described is valid only if the temperature is or more. The relative humidity threshold, below which a heat index calculation will return a number equal to or lower than the air temperature, varies with temperature and is not linear. The threshold is commonly set at an arbitrary 40%.
The heat index and its counterpart the humidex both take into account only two variables, shade temperature and atmospheric moisture, thus providing only a limited estimate of thermal comfort. Additional factors such as wind, sunshine and individual clothing choices also affect perceived temperature; these factors are parameterized as constants in the heat index formula. Wind, for example, is assumed to be. Wind passing over wet or sweaty skin causes evaporation and a wind chill effect that the heat index does not measure. The other major factor is sunshine; standing in direct sunlight can add up to to the apparent heat compared to shade. There have been attempts to create a universal apparent temperature, such as the wet-bulb globe temperature, "relative outdoor temperature", "feels like", or the proprietary "RealFeel".

Meteorological considerations

Outdoors in open conditions, as the relative humidity increases, first haze and ultimately a thicker cloud cover develops, reducing the amount of direct sunlight reaching the surface. Thus, there is an inverse relationship between maximum potential temperature and maximum potential relative humidity. Because of this factor, it was once believed that the highest heat index reading actually attainable anywhere on Earth was approximately. However, in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia on July 8, 2003, the dew point was while the temperature was, resulting in a heat index of.
The human body requires evaporative cooling to prevent overheating. Wet-bulb temperature, and Wet Bulb Globe Temperature are used to determine the ability of a body to eliminate excess heat. A sustained wet-bulb temperature of about can be fatal to healthy people; at this temperature our bodies switch from shedding heat to the environment, to gaining heat from it.
Thus a wet bulb temperature of is the threshold beyond which the body is no longer able to adequately cool itself.

Table of values

The table below is from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The columns begin at, but there is also a heat index effect at and similar temperatures when there is high humidity.
For example, if the air temperature is and the relative humidity is 65%, the heat index is

Effects of the heat index (shade values)

Exposure to full sunshine can increase heat index values by up to 8 °C.

Formula

There are many formulas devised to approximate the original tables by Steadman. Anderson et al., NWS, Jonson and Long, and Schoen have lesser residuals in this order. The former two are a set of polynomials, but the third one is by a single formula with exponential functions.
The formula below approximates the heat index in degrees Fahrenheit, to within ±. It is the result of a multivariate fit to a model of the human body. This equation reproduces the above NOAA National Weather Service table.
where
The following coefficients can be used to determine the heat index when the temperature is given in degrees Celsius, where
An alternative set of constants for this equation that is within ± of the NWS master table for all humidities from 0 to 80% and all temperatures between and all heat indices below is:
A further alternate is this:
where
For example, using this last formula, with temperature and relative humidity of 85%, the result would be:.