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Wet-Bulb Temperature

en.wikipedia.org Reference Encyclopedia entries Mathematics & science Candidate
Screenshot of en.wikipedia.org captured 2026-07-20
Page preview · captured 2026-07-20

Resurfaced independently across 3 calendar years, with breakout response in 2 of them.

submissions
3
submitters
3
observed span
2019–2023
peak thread · 176 comments
137 pts
latest 20+ return · 2023-08-28
137 pts

Submission timeline

2007–2026

One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.

First comments on top threads

HN comment order

I worked as a snowmaker at ski resorts for most my my adult life before getting into tech. We always use wet bulb temperatures because it’s a representation of temperature and humidity. With extremely low humidity, you can actually make manmade snow at about +3 degrees Celsius. That was always fun but scary, because a small change in humidity can turn snowguns into water guns in the blink of an eye.

This is the key part: > A sustained wet-bulb temperature exceeding 35 °C (95 °F) is likely to be fatal even to fit and healthy people, unclothed in the shade next to a fan; at this temperature human bodies switch from shedding heat to the environment, to gaining heat from it. The important thing is that passive/evaporative cooling simply stops working. In fact, sitting in front of a fan would actually speed up your death. You'll also die shockingly quickly…

The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.

Breakout years
2

100+ points or 50+ comments

Total points
251

reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking

Total comments
257

reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking

Every submission

DateTitle as submittedByPointsComments
2019-07-29Wet-Bulb Temperaturetosh20
2022-03-02Wet-Bulb TemperatureFirst breakouthkc11281
2023-08-28Wet-Bulb TemperatureBest thread · Latest 20+ point returnvincent_s137176