What does a Texas underwear company and the group regulating high school sports and marching band have in common? They both want to more accurately describe the level of discomfort that comes with the extreme temperatures of Texas summer.
While most Texans recognize traditional metrics like temperature, dew point, and heat index, which are widely used to measure the extreme Texas heat, the University Interscholastic League is requiring a little-known but more accurate method called wet bulb globe temperature.
New way to track heat
Heat tracking devices that measure the wet bulb globe temperature, or WBGT, factor in multiple environmental conditions, including temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation. The WBGT differs from the heat index, which is called the apparent temperature because it is based only on temperature and humidity.
The WBGT uses readings from three different thermometers to provide a more accurate assessment of how heat stress affects the human body. According to the National Weather Service, the three bulb thermometers work like this:
- A wet bulb measures the temperature read by a thermometer covered in a wet cloth. As water evaporates from the cloth, evaporation cools the thermometer. This mirrors how the human body cools itself with sweat.
- A black globe is used to measure solar radiation. Solar radiation heats the globe and wind blowing across it cools the globe.
- A dry bulb calculates the air temperature measured in the shade. It is the temperature you would see on your thermometer outside.
Combining these elements into a weighted formula (70% wet-bulb, 20% globe, 10% dry-bulb) gives safety officials a precise tool to measure real-world heat stress in direct sunlight, rather than just estimating shade conditions like a normal heat index, according to the weather service.
This is especially important for schools when determining if it’s too hot for students in sports or marching band to practice, how long practices should last, what time of day activities should take place, and how many water breaks are needed to keep musicians and athletes safe to prevent heat-related illnesses.
That’s why the University Interscholastic League, based in Austin, is turning to the WBGT as a more comprehensive way to measure heat risk and help prevent heat-related illnesses. Beginning Saturday, UIL will require schools to monitor WBGT readings throughout the day, implement activity modifications when needed, and have rapid-cooling protocols in place for outdoor athletic and marching band activities.
Bold way to track heat
While Texas’ governing body for high school athletics is using a more precise tool to monitor heat risk, a Texas-based underwear company called SwampButt has taken a more unconventional approach to measuring the summer discomfort with its “Scale of Sultry.”…