how cold does it have to be before somebody can actually freeze to death?is it an immediate or slow death?

Answer 1

It actually doesn't have to be that cold. It depends upon the actual circumstances of the cold. E.g. stuck in cold water at 15C or below, caught in a rain shower and not being able to dry off, or in a house in winter with no heating and not enough layers of clothing and being inactive like many old people in winter.

The reason you freeze to death is due to a drop in your core body temperature. Normally the body is about 37.5C but any of these things can cause a drop in core temp to about 35C which is termed hypothermia. Hypothermia a slow death and usually begins with confusion and shivering, as well as being tired and listless. Then the fingers and toes become cold followed by the arms and legs as the blood retreats to the vital organs (heart, lungs, brain etc) to protect them. Eventually if there is no treatment, the organs begin to shut down due to the remaining heat being lost, the breathing slows eventually to a stop and the body temperature drops to 32C or below.
It's a slow death and I think the same for any way of freezing to death, though I think the time that it takes depends on how extreme the temperature is, but not immediate.

Answer 2

To actually freeze to death would not be an instanteaneous death but it would be quick because you wouuld need extremely low temperatures and the ability to conduct heat away from the body very quickly. Being bathed in liquid nitrogen would probably do the trick.

However if by freeze to death you mean dying of the cold then there is no particular temperature. It depends on the circumstances and the individual. Any significant freezing of the body would happen after death had already taken place due to the reduction in the bodies core temperature.

To die of the cold the temperature does not even have to fall below freezing. The conditions must simply be that your body cannot maintain its temperature.

Once the bodies core temperature falls to below about 25 degrees celsius death, if it has not already occured is imminent.

How quickly you reach this core temperature varies depending upon the circumstances. It could take place over hours, possibly days trapped on a mountainside in inclement weather or in minutes if you went overboard into the Artic ocean.

Answer 3

dont know how cold is has to be but do know that if you were to freeze to death it is a slow but unpainful death. after getting over the initial freeze period you become calm and passive. You are said to actually die quite happy because of the state of mind the cold puts you in.

Answer 4

You don't have to freeze actually. For example if someone so unlucky to spend something around 1,5 hour in the water at +5C he has a chance to be dead because of hypothermia. and it's slow. In a cold climate first sign of freezing is sleepiness. so it's slow but not painful

Answer 5

The answer must lie in body temperature the reduction is gradual and basically you just fall asleep as your functions shut down it is painless therefore you can die on a relatively warm night say -1-2
depending how warm you are dressed if you then relate this to
old people dying of hypothermia they don't get up and make eg a hot drink they just sit and pass away like going to sleep basically that is why we are so concerned about old people keeping warm in winter it really is frighteningly basic

Answer 6

the body will undergo a process of thermoregulation to try to keep up the body's temperature .. things like shivering, raise of arms hairs, close of bodys skin pores .. etc if it didnt work (and ur case it wont), the body will be in a state of hypothermia .. at this point ur body is below 36.6'C ..

if it continues, the body temperature will continue to drop untill at about 30'C the body will undergo a coma and u wont be able to feel a thing .. this will be the end of it !!!

the wholething can be done depending on the temperature of this cold enviroment the person is in .. if its below zero hypothermia occurs faster and if its like 10'C it occurs slower ..etc

Answer 7

You can start freezing when your core temperature reaches 90 degrees..think about it. Your real means temp is 98.9 isnt it??

Youll start losing conciousness at about 10-30 degrees...depending on your health at the time...it feels as if your going to sleep....and you wont wake up either.

Answer 8

I once asked my professor about this and he said the scientific term was F.C.

When I asked him to explain the term , he replied, F****** Cold.

As for the speed of death I cannot comment as have never had the opportunity to ask anyone in this condition.lol.

Answer 9

if u stand in -100 c u will die immediarel if ur in -40 c its a slow death

Answer 10

It's an incredibly slow death. I don't advise it.