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Provided by: Probable Futures |Published on: March 30, 2025
Articles/Websites
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Synopsis
This article from Probable Futures explains wet-bulb temperatures, how they are measured, and how climate change will result in more days where the temperature plus humidity makes it feel hotter.
Students will learn about the ways that hot and humid conditions can affect human health and limit the ability of sweating to cool our internal body temperature.
This article is brief and thus can be implemented even during very short class periods.
The website has a very simple, uncluttered design, minimizing distractions so students can focus on the article's content.
Prerequisites
Students should understand evaporation.
Students should also have some background knowledge about climate change.
Differentiation & Implementation
The video What Is Wet Bulb Temperature? from The Kid Should See provides animations to further illustrate wet-bulb temperature, which can help students who need more clarification after reading the article.
Teachers can connect the idea of wet-bulb temperature to students' previous experiences by asking if they or their parents have ever checked the "feels like" or "heat index" temperature on their weather app. Teachers can ask students what factors make this temperature different from the actual temperature.
Teachers can pair this article with the interactive resource Heat: Maps of Temperature where students can explore how climate change impacts temperature changes around the world.
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
Probable Futures
Probable Futures offers useful tools and maps to visualize climate change along with stories and insights to help people understand what those changes mean.
Related Teaching Resources
All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.
