Why do 90 degree temperatures feel hot to us?

Question

Since our normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees, why does an air temperature of 90 degrees feel hot?

"Snacks" comes very close to nailing it. Here's what I found out by researching this myself:
Humans are warm-blooded. We produce heat like a car engine, and we need active cooling from air and sweat. We are mostly cooled by water (perspiration) evaporating from our skin. But in very hot (and humid) weather, we can't lose our extra heat. We perspire to eliminate wastes from our body and to regulate temperature. The low 70's are ideal for this process -- much lower and the perspiration evaporates too fast and we feel chilly. At high air temperatures, the opposite happens and we get 'sweaty'.

Answer 1

If I was to guess (and I could be right here), I'd say it is because our bodies are constantly producing lots of heat (through movement, bodily functions, etc.) and also trying to get rid of that heat and keep our temperature around that 98.6 degree mark so we don't overheat and damage organs and such.

With that in mind, it's difficult to disperse 98.6+ degree heat into air that's already hot (around 90 degrees) all around us - it's much easier to get rid of it into, say, 70 degree air, or into water (which, unlike air, absorbs a lot of heat, even at 80 or 90 degrees) - this is why we sweat. If we can't get rid of all the heat our bodies are making into the air, our bodies sweat out water onto our hot skin which cools it down due to water's natrual ability to absorb heat.

This would be why 60, 70, or 80 degree air temperatures feel much more comfortable to us. Also, what I said about water's ability to absorb heat is also why 60 or 70 degree water temperatures feel absolutely freezing to us!

Answer 2

Our body temperature is optimized for all the chemical reactions going on. Our skin temperature is lower, about 90°F. We burn lots of calories and give off waste heat. We need to keep a cool 99°, otherwise our organs start failing. An adult human with a body temperature of 108 is in danger of brain damage. That's only 9 degrees above average!! We use clothing, sweat, breathing, activity (including shivering) to regulate our temperature. We are most comfortable, depending on clothing, when we are able to keep our core temperature at optimum with minimum sweating. So, low to mid 70's is the "goldilocks zone" - not too hot and not too cold. However when I am at my desk 75 is just fine but when I'm out in my lab it is too hot. When I am doing chores outside my home, 65 is great and when I'm doing heavy chores, 55 is fine. So I wonder about your 70's statement. It will depend on weather, clothing, and what you are doing. Sounds like you aren't particularly active?

Answer 3

The humidity level has a great deal of influence on how 'hot' you feel. The same temperature in South Florida (humid) vs Tucson Arizona (dry) will feel quite different because of the amount of moisture in the air.

Answer 4

Because of the temperature difference between your core (inside) and exterior (outside) 90 degrees feels hot not because of the heat but the humidity. in Arizona it gets to be 110 but you don't realize it mainly because of the lack of humidity in the air.

Answer 5

That temperature you quoted is normal CORE body temperature, right in the middle where our organs are. It isn't normal for the outside of our body (our skin temperature) to be that hot.

We need the outside of our body to be cool so that excess heat produced by normal body processes can be radiated away from our body to keep our normal temperature constant.

Answer 6

I don't know why most people complain about 90 degrees when in Texas the weather has been over 100 for the last couple of days. That is hot!!!!

Answer 7

Human Body Temperature= 90.98' F 68.322222.....'C
Temperature=90'F 67.77777.....8'C
Your body is hotter than the temperature outside your body. So that will make you much more hotter.

Answer 8

Because your inner temperature is a lot hotter than what your skin feels.

Answer 9

brecause 98.6 degrees is our internal tempuratue.our external temperature is whatever the outside temperature is.

Answer 10

Because your normal body temp is in the 90's.I would guess that's why.