{"id":457978,"date":"2026-07-26T11:28:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T18:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=457978"},"modified":"2026-07-26T11:28:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T18:28:15","slug":"the-folly-of-the-heat-index","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=457978","title":{"rendered":"The folly of the heat index"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Overheated exhausted Arabian woman waving paper fan, sitting on couch, suffering from hot summer weather, sweaty young female cooling in living room without air conditioner, feeling discomfort<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Joe Bastardi<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me explain how I am using AI. I actually owe a debt of gratitude to my vehement critics for this, since they accuse me of putting out misleading information. So, what I am doing here is questioning the AI (which I knew would logically confirm what I have concluded) so that you see there is a completely unbiased observer adding to the information. And it\u2019s the total picture we must be aware of, and I am going to demonstrate this with the \u201cheat index,\u201d which in any given hot air mass is shown as much or more than the actual temperatures (and, of course, no reference to past years where actual temperatures may have been higher than the heat index.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See if you come to this conclusion on the goal: We know it\u2019s hot, but you want to make it feel even hotter to push the message of an overheating planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or something like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The heat index is shown to people in a similar manner to the drought index. They are only based on part of the story. Now the secret behind propaganda (or pushing an issue) is never to show the whole picture. Make sure you show something that has an element of truth but go no further. The average person does not know the full story. The drought index takes demand into account. So it is not just a weather variable. And if there is more demand, what would be a normal drought index from average precipitation 40 years ago, has you in a drought now. And so it is with the heat index. It depends on how a person \u201cfeels.\u201d But far worse than that is the very definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heat index values \u201cwere devised for shady, light wind conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want you to look at these observations, south of Bertha\u2019s center, where it was likely also raining, and look at the heat indexes being shown with those conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So again, the subject here is the folly of the heat index and an objective measure. (I am simply going to ask the AI a question that I already know the answer to, based on common sense and observation and see where it leads us if we look at the big picture.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what happens when it is windy?  The wind impacts evaporation off your skin, making you feel cooler.  But that is the secret: FEELINGS over FACTS. Gee, I wonder who pushes that. So don\u2019t account for the wind, or if it\u2019s raining, or if you happen to handle heat better. Just lump everyone in and tell them how miserable they are, as you announce it from your air-conditioned TV studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I asked the AI:  What about this, with the heat index of 97, at night, with sustained winds of 48 mph?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Answer: The average person would almost certainly not feel like it\u2019s 97\u00b0F under those conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Question: If it\u2019s raining and that windy, is it theoretically possible the person feels cold?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Answer: Yes, it is theoretically (and often practically) possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, this is all common sense<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me: And doesn\u2019t the person\u2019s metabolism and fitness have a lot to do with the way one handles heat?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI: Yes \u2014 a person\u2019s metabolism and fitness level have a lot to do with how they handle heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two people standing in the exact same 86\u00b0F air + strong wind + rain can experience noticeably different sensations and physiological strain purely because of differences in metabolism, fitness, and related traits. Fitness, in particular, is one of the biggest controllable factors that improve heat tolerance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me: So in any given sample, even under ideal heat index conditions, different people would feel different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI: Yes, exactly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me: So, as a metric instead of actual temperatures, using a heat index and applying it to people the same way you would the temperature- for example, many times people just put up heat indexes- is, by nature, a bit deceiving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI: Yes \u2014 treating the heat index exactly like a universal air temperature that applies equally to everyone is, by nature, deceiving (or at least oversimplified).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me: But it would get more attention, right? Especially if you had deep bowels of Hades\u2019 fiery colors, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI: Yes, exactly right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me: If you wanted to impress upon people how bad the climate is getting, would you not just push the heat index more than the actual temperature?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI: Yes \u2014 if the primary goal were simply to maximize alarm and public attention about climate change, emphasizing heat-index values over raw air temperatures would be a more effective rhetorical choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me: And, not showing actual temperatures in the past that were higher than the heat index would also be a good way of doing that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI: Yes \u2014 selectively omitting or downplaying historical raw air temperatures that exceeded today\u2019s heat-index values would also strengthen that impression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me: Interesting, would you not agree given what we see from the media today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI: Yes, the pattern is visible in a good deal of today\u2019s media coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for your clear answers on this matter and enjoy the weather; it\u2019s the only weather you got (no matter what the heat index is).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The heat index is shown to people in a similar manner to the drought index. They are only based on part of the story. Now the secret behind propaganda (or pushing an issue) is never to show the whole picture. Make sure you show something that has an element of truth but go no further. The average person does not know the full story. The drought index takes demand into account. So it is not just a weather variable. And if there is more demand, what would be a normal drought index from average precipitation 40 years ago, has you in a drought now. And so it is with the heat index. It depends on how a person \u201cfeels.\u201d But far worse than that is the very definition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":457989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691844260],"class_list":["post-457978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-heat-index","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1V8K","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":274488,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=274488","url_meta":{"origin":457978,"position":0},"title":"Doubts About Droughts","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/19\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Let\u2019s talk about droughts.\u00a0 Unfortunately, to do that, we\u2019d have to understand what droughts are.\u00a0 And that understanding doesn\u2019t come easy.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-792.png?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-792.png?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-792.png?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-792.png?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-792.png?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":444578,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=444578","url_meta":{"origin":457978,"position":1},"title":"A hard rain\u2019s a-gonna fall","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/16\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the biggest problems I have with the drought crowd is that the very definition of drought also takes into account usage. If there is more usage than the same amounts of rain, we now will have a stronger drought index than 50 years ago. It has been absurdly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"drought\"","block_context":{"text":"drought","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=drought"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0Child-summer-rain.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0Child-summer-rain.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0Child-summer-rain.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0Child-summer-rain.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0Child-summer-rain.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":268044,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=268044","url_meta":{"origin":457978,"position":2},"title":"Is The Dry Getting Drier?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/18\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Now, the KNMI site only offers linear trends of data. But if you look at the bottom of the KNMI page linked above, or other pages at that level of inquiry, you\u2019ll find that there is an option to download the NetCDF version of the data. As in this case,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Dry\"","block_context":{"text":"Dry","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=dry"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00ThinkstockPhotos-469723319-1600x1200-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00ThinkstockPhotos-469723319-1600x1200-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00ThinkstockPhotos-469723319-1600x1200-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00ThinkstockPhotos-469723319-1600x1200-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00ThinkstockPhotos-469723319-1600x1200-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":329595,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=329595","url_meta":{"origin":457978,"position":3},"title":"Data Reveal That US Heat Wave Index, Japan Drought Coincide With Solar Activity","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/22\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In 1962, Japanese meteorologist Hirohide Saito found the instability of summer temperature of Hokkaido (northern part of Japan) during the solar minimum. In 1967 Japanese meteorologist Junkichi Nemoto published the following graph, below, showing that drought in Japan occurs at the solar minimum as well as at the solar maximum.","rel":"","context":"In \"drought\"","block_context":{"text":"drought","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=drought"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/00min-iss-e1598005412889.webp?fit=1200%2C775&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/00min-iss-e1598005412889.webp?fit=1200%2C775&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/00min-iss-e1598005412889.webp?fit=1200%2C775&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/00min-iss-e1598005412889.webp?fit=1200%2C775&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/00min-iss-e1598005412889.webp?fit=1200%2C775&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":435896,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=435896","url_meta":{"origin":457978,"position":4},"title":"New Study Finds Warming Saves Lives\u2026Cold Temperatures 12 Times More Deadly Than Excess Heat","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/31\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Because cold temperatures are so much more dangerous to human health than warmth, a modest 0.5\u00b0C warming could save over 10,000 lives per year in the US.","rel":"","context":"In \"CDC\u2019s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI)\"","block_context":{"text":"CDC\u2019s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=cdcs-social-vulnerability-index-svi"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Social-vulnerability-and-mortality-attributable-to-non-optimal-temperature-in-the-United-States.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Social-vulnerability-and-mortality-attributable-to-non-optimal-temperature-in-the-United-States.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Social-vulnerability-and-mortality-attributable-to-non-optimal-temperature-in-the-United-States.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Social-vulnerability-and-mortality-attributable-to-non-optimal-temperature-in-the-United-States.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0-Social-vulnerability-and-mortality-attributable-to-non-optimal-temperature-in-the-United-States.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":437290,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=437290","url_meta":{"origin":457978,"position":5},"title":"US Heatwaves Much Worse In\u00a0Past","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/04\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The US Annual Heat Wave Index measures the frequency and widespread nature of heat waves (defined as periods of at least 4 days where average temperatures are extremely rare, expected once every 10 years historically). It shows clear peaks in the 1930s\u2014especially 1934 and 1936\u2014far higher than recent values. Extended\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"1930s Dust Bowl\"","block_context":{"text":"1930s Dust Bowl","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=1930s-dust-bowl"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-US-Heatwaves-Much-Worse-In-Past.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-US-Heatwaves-Much-Worse-In-Past.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-US-Heatwaves-Much-Worse-In-Past.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-US-Heatwaves-Much-Worse-In-Past.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0-woman-feels-heat-fan.jpg?fit=2508%2C1672&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=457978"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":457991,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457978\/revisions\/457991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/457989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=457978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=457978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=457978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}