Study - Intensity, Number Of Wet-Bulb Days Increasingly Rapidly; In Florida, Up 75% In Past 20 Years

[hatrack]

EDIT

Humid heat' is another name given to an index for measuring heat that’s important for human health — the wet bulb temperature. Like the heat index, wet bulb temperature measures how heat, moisture and other elements affect the body. If humidity levels get too high when temperature is also extreme, sweating becomes physiologically impossible, which can lead to deadly heat stroke.

Scientists at Columbia University, Loughborough University and NASA published a paper in May revealing the rapid pace with which extreme wet bulb temperatures have been worsening globally, concluding it won’t be long before humans can no longer survive in some parts of the Middle East and South Asia. In Florida, the frequency with which the muggiest days occurred each year was found to have increased by 75% over a 20-year period, adding to health risks in an already-muggy state.

NASA postdoctoral researcher Colin Raymond — one of two authors of the study, published in the journal ScienceAdvances — said one of the most surprising findings was the severity with which the combination of heat and humidity impacts coastal regions like Florida.

“It was always sort of assumed on some level that the lower temperatures along the coast and the higher humidity was sort of offset when it came to heat stress,” said Raymond. “But just looking at the most extreme events in the last 40 years, there are certain coastline areas [like much of Florida] where that is not the case.”

EDIT

https://www.climatecentral.org/news/warming-brings-muggier-weather-to-jacksonville-threatening-most-vulnerable

[Phoenix61]

1. I know that's true. I've lived in the Pan Handle

for 30+ years and it’s definitely noticeable, especially at night.