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The wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) is a measure of environmental heat as it affects humans. Unlike a simple temperature measurement, WBGT accounts for all four major environmental heat factors: air temperature, humidity, radiant heat (from sunlight or sources such as furnaces), and air movement (wind or ventilation). It is used by industrial hygienists, athletes, sporting events and the military to determine appropriate exposure levels to high temperatures.

A WBGT meter combines three sensors, a dry-bulb thermometer, a natural (static) wet-bulb thermometer, and a black globe thermometer.

For outdoor environments, the meter uses all sensor data inputs, calculating WBGT as:

${\displaystyle \mathrm {WBGT} =0.7T_{\mathrm {w} }+0.2T_{\mathrm {g} }+0.1T_{\mathrm {d} }}$

where

• T_w = Natural wet-bulb temperature (combined with dry-bulb temperature indicates humidity)
• T_g = Globe thermometer temperature (measured with a globe thermometer, also known as a black globe thermometer)
• T_d = Dry-bulb temperature (actual air temperature)
• Temperatures may be in either Celsius or Fahrenheit

Indoors the following formula is used:

${\displaystyle \mathrm {WBGT} =0.7T_{\mathrm {w} }+0.3T_{\mathrm {g} }}$

If a meter is not available, the WBGT can be calculated from current or historic weather data. A clothing adjustment may be added to the WBGT to determine the "effective WBGT", WBGT_eff.

Uses

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists publishes threshold limit values (TLVs) that have been adopted by many governments for use in the workplace. The process for determining the WBGT is also described in ISO 7243, Hot Environments - Estimation of the Heat Stress on Working Man, Based on the WBGT Index. The American College of Sports Medicine bases its guidelines on the intensity of sport practices based on WBGT.

In hot areas, some US military installations display a flag to indicate the heat category based on the WBGT. The military publishes guidelines for water intake and physical activity level for acclimated and unacclimated individuals in different uniforms based on the heat category. The University of Georgia adapted these categories for use in college sports as a guideline for how strenuous practices can be.

Category	WBGT (°F)	WBGT (°C)	Flag color
1	≤ 78–81.9	≤ 25.6–27.7	White
2	82–84.9	27.8–29.4	Green
3	85–87.9	29.5–31.0	Yellow
4	88–89.9	31.1–32.1	Red
5	≥ 90	≥ 32.2	Black

Related temperature comfort measures

The heat index used by the U.S. National Weather Service and the humidex used by the Meteorological Service of Canada, along with the wind chill used in both countries, are also measures of perceived heat or cold, but they do not account for the effects of radiation.

The NWS office in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in conjunction with Oral Roberts University's mathematics department, published an approximation formula to the WBGT that takes into account cloud cover and wind speed; in limited experimentation (four samples), the office claimed the estimate was regularly accurate to within 0.5 °F (0.28 °C), even with a simplification that reduces the equation from a four-degree polynomial to a linear relationship (the authors noted that the linear approximation was not tested for air temperatures under 68 °F (20 °C) since the WBGT is designed to measure heat stress, which seldom occurs below that threshold).

See also

• Hygrometer

References

1. "Prevention » Heat Hazard Recognition". Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
2. ^ "Section III, Chapter 4: Heat Hazard Assessment". OSHA Technical Manual. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 15 September 2017.
3. "Deaths Triple Among Football Players, Morning Temperatures Thought to Play a Role". Science Daily. February 27, 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
4. Army Technical Bulletin Medical 507 and Air Force Pamphlet 48-152(I) 7 March 2003
5. Shepherd, Marshall (14 August 2019). "Wet Bulb Globe Temperature is Great for Heat Warnings - Why Don't We Use It?". Forbes (contributor).
6. Dimiceli, Vincent; Piltz, Steven. Estimation of Black Globe Temperature for Calculation of the WBGT Index National Weather Service WFO Tulsa, OK. April 1, 2015.

Further reading

• Air Force Pamphlet 48-151
• U.S. Army Technical Bulletin Medical 507/Air Force Pamphlet 48-152
• Zunis Foundation background article

External links

• Thermal Comfort observations from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
• Extreme Hot or Cold Temperature Conditions from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
• OSHA Technical Manual: Heat Stress from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration

• Occupational safety and health
• Atmospheric thermodynamics
• Temperature
• Meteorological indices