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Hot is always as hot but sometimes not as hot as really hot.

Okay, I will use Budapest as an example because I live here and its easier for me, but there are lots of places where it isnt as hot as it appears on the thermometer.

Today in Budapest it got to 98F. That’s hot. But how hot? The average temperature in August in Atlanta GA is only 90F, but Budapest at 98F is still 13F cooler.

To understand how the heat treats your body they have developed a Heat Index that recognizes its not just the temperature, but its as much the humidity. https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/html/heatindex.shtml

90F in Atlanta (the August average) at 75% humidity (the August average) ranks a heat index of 110F
98F here in Budapest at 25% humidity (actual today) ranks a heat index of 97F
For all practical purposes it’s 13F cooler here than it is in cooler Atlanta.

When I was in practice we had a table that gave credit for air movement, but I can’t find it on-line. Suffice it to say the constant 6mph breeze here increases the comfort level more.

When you look up temperatures, also look up the humidity and the heat index to get a true feeling for what you will be getting into.

Then if someone has a question about summer travel, why don’t we first suggest the cooler places in the region that they are interested in. There are beautiful places in Spain that rarely get above 80F in the Summer. Madrid can reach 90F in July but the average humidity there is only 35% which makes it a lot more bearable. Barcelona, not so much. There are cooler places in Greece too. Sure hit the typical tourist hot spots but mix in some cooler weather too?

Posted by
1243 posts

My prefered time for Barcelona was always June. I've been in August and the air in the city is like hot sludge. Absolutely murder.

Posted by
4166 posts

It was a pleasant 24 C in southern Sweden today, we also have barely any mosquitos this summer so very pleasant.

I count my blessing I am not in Spain in July/August, they are just getting hit with heatwave after heatwave, not normal at all. Even some parts of northern Spain reached almost 35 C this week, and they are supposed to be the cooler side of the country.

Posted by
5314 posts

There's nothing like "muggy " to turn hot into miserable.

Posted by
9181 posts

It’s Summer. It’s August. 87 in LA at present.
At least you don’t have earthquakes.

Posted by
4727 posts

Yes, I was in Venice mid July and it actually made coming home to Texas seem not so bad…. (weather-wise).

Posted by
1243 posts

I follow a classic car channel on Youtube and the Floridian host is a bit of a wit. He always has a weather report at the start of each video and he makes a big deal of how much he hates it in Naples (FL). I've never experienced heat and humidity like he talks about in a Florida summer.

https://www.youtube.com/@curiouscars9282

Posted by
5394 posts

Agree, Maria. Canadians have had either the Humidex or the wind chill shown right beside the forecast temperatures for almost 60 years. I didn't realize that the heat index was a new concept in other countries. Of course the locals know when to expect hot and muggy, or hot but it's a dry heat, weather.

Posted by
4656 posts

@CJean. I had to learn about where the concept of Humidex came from when corresponding with an American now a European nomad. She had no idea what I was talking about. But it makes sense to you and I ;-).

Posted by
8912 posts

It's not new to us in the US midwest. Heat index has been part of our local weather reports for decades. So, It is helpful to know when people report on how hot it is in Europe.

Posted by
262 posts

And there is the problem that the more inexpensive air conditioners ("swamp coolers") that work by evaporation, struggle in high humidity.

Posted by
19947 posts

I guess the point was, before we start terrorizing people about Summer heat we really need to know what we are talking about and context about the activities and the weather they are use to.

We ran a guy off a few weeks ago on this subject. He was from a Texas city that has 110F days in the summer. But we didn't think he understood how dangerous the heat was in Europe in the summer.