Humidex

Environment Canada doesn't just measure the temperature, when it's really cold and really hot they put that measurement into a formula to create wind-chill and humidex temperatures.* (See below if you're keen for a more scientific explanation)  These formulated temperatures are what the weather "actually" feels like when you take all the other elements into consideration.

Ordinarily I would find all this weather/science talk quite boring but we're in the midst of a mini heatwave.  It is very hot and humid here... yesterday it got to 32 degrees with a humidex reading of 40 degrees!!  I would have never imagined it would get this hot!  But we were all acutely aware of how hot it was yesterday and today!  It's forecast to get to 43 degrees today!  It's so humid and there isn't a breeze....  In less than 6 months we have experienced a temperature variation of 70 degrees Celsius!  It's really amazing that somewhere so seriously cold then gets so incredibly hot and humid!  

Luckily this debilitating heat should move on tomorrow and the basement is beautifully cool so we're hanging out down here.  Unluckily our pool is still very green and unswimable.... ggrrrrr.  

xx

*Q.

What is the "humidex"?

  A.

The humidex is an index (a computed value as opposed to something measured) devised to describe how hot or humid weather feels to the average person. The humidex combines the temperature and humidity into one number to reflect the perceived temperature. It takes into account these two important factors that affect summer comfort. It is therefore a better measure of how stifling the air feels than either temperature or humidity alone. A humidex of 40 with, for example, a temperature of 30 degrees means that the sensation of heat when it is 30 degrees and the air is humid is more or less the same as when it is 40 degrees and the air is dry. We must be careful not to depend on this interpretation alone: it is a mere indication of physiological reactions, not an absolute measure

www.weatheroffice.gc.ca