The wind chill, or more accurately the wind chill factor, is the temperature as we feel it on our exposed skin (wind chill does affect machinery but a different formula is used). The action of the wind affects how quickly we loose heat from our bodies, as heat is carried away by convection. In arctic environments where altitude and wind speed can be high combined with a low air temperature, wind chill can be very dangerous. There are various formulas and differing tables for wind chill: one is illustrated below. Bright sunshine will also reduce the effects of windchill. When looking at the table below consider the following facts;
Frostbite can occur on exposed skin within 30 minutes below -30 degrees centigrade
Frostbite can occur on exposed skin within 1 minute below -51 degrees centigrade
Frostbite can occur on exposed skin within 30 seconds below -59 degrees centigrade
Wind Speed |
Air Temperature (Centigrade) |
|
|
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8 |
5 |
0 |
-5 |
-10 |
-15 |
-20 |
-25 |
-30 |
-35 |
|
|||
10 |
6 |
3 |
-2 |
-7 |
-12 |
-17 |
-22 |
-27 |
-32 |
-38 |
|
||
20 |
5 |
1 |
-7 |
-13 |
-19 |
-25 |
-31 |
-37 |
-43 |
-50 |
|
||
30 |
4 |
0 |
-11 |
-17 |
-24 |
-31 |
-37 |
-44 |
-50 |
-57 |
|
||
40 |
3 |
-1 |
-13 |
-20 |
-27 |
-34 |
-41 |
-48 |
-55 |
-62 |
|
||
50 |
3 |
-1 |
-15 |
-22 |
-29 |
-36 |
-44 |
-51 |
-58 |
-66 |
|
||
60 |
2 |
-2 |
-16 |
-23 |
-31 |
-38 |
-45 |
-53 |
-60 |
-68 |
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