What is feels like temperature?

The “Feels Like” temperature is the apparent temperature based on temperature, humidity and wind speed. The “feels like” temperature is based on a model of an adult walking outdoors in the shade. The official definition is “the temperature, at the reference humidity level, producing the same amount of discomfort as that experienced under the current ambient temperature and humidity”.

What this means is that the “feels like” temperature is an adjustment to the actual temperature to take into account the humidity level. The reference humidity level is chosen as a dewpoint of 14C. If the humidity is higher than this reference, the “feels like” temperature will be higher than the temperature and if the humidity is lower than this reference, the “feels like” temperature will be lower than the temperature. For small variations from the reference humidity level, there will be little difference between the temperature and the “feels like” temperature. It is valid over a wide range of temperature and includes wind chill at lower temperatures.