the highest recorded wet bulb temperatures in the world occur in india, jsyk. in odisha, theyāve hit 34.6 degrees celsius. the human survivability limit is 35 degrees celsius but the body faces significant risks, potentially fatal risks, even at 30 degrees as it starts failing to cool itself, like iām talking organ failure levels of risk. climate change isnāt coming to peak, itās been in the global south where you canāt see it or feel it.
What are wet bulb temperatures. I live where it is regularly above 40 (42 today) but the humidity is only 22%. How does wet bulb make 35 deadly?
Idk if someone else explained it yet, but in case nobody has, wet bulb temperature is not ambient air temperature; it's defined as the lowest temperature that can be reached by evaporative cooling (sweating, throwing water on yourself) and is measured with a special thermometer.
When OP is talking about human survivability (35 C wet bulb), this is the theoretical limit of survivability where it is too hot AND humid for your body to be able to cool down anymore. You could be sweating naked in the shade with a fan on you and you'd just keep heating up.
Even below the theoretical upper limit, lower wet bulb temps can still be deadly even for young, healthy people depending on many factors including previous exposure to extreme heat stress, and the combination of heat and humidity that is responsible for the wet bulb temperature ("lower" ambient temp with 90+% humidity could still be very dangerous because you can't sweat effectively, for example).
