Just For Kids

Canada's Wind Chill Index

Environment Canada's wind chill index is the result of an international collaboration, and is based on research of how the human body loses heat in the cold and wind.

The wind chill represents how the temperature would feel on your skin if the wind were reduced to a walking pace of 4.8 km/h. The wind chill is expressed in temperature-like units, but because it is not the actual air temperature, it is given without the degree sign. For example, if the outside temperature is -10° C and the wind chill is -20, it means that your face will feel as cold as it would on a calm day when the temperature is -20°C.

Wind chill causes objects to cool to air temperature more rapidly than they would in calm wind conditions.Wind chill only affects objects that are warmer than the actual air temperature. Think of a bowl of soup - you can blow on it and cool it to room temperature, but you can't make it any colder than that.

Wind chill causes open water to freeze more quickly. Periods of high wind chill will boost home heating costs and reduce the effectiveness of automobile block heaters. Frostbite becomes an increasing threat to humans and animals.Wet skin or wet clothing in direct contact with skin increases the effective wind chill.

The best way to avoid the hazards of wind chill is to check the weather forecast and be prepared by dressing warmly and staying dry. Weather information is available on radio and TV,Weatheradio, recorded telephone lines and at Environment Canada's site on the internet at www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca

Related Sites

• Wind Chill Web Site
• What to do
• Charts and Tables
• Educational Material
• I was a guinea pig for the wind chill study
• Wind Chill Calculator
• Wind Chill Hazards

Important Benchmarks

• ( -27 ) Risk of frostbite in prolonged exposures (similar to previous 1800 watts/m2)
• ( -35 ) Frostbite possible in 10-15 minutes (similar to previous 2000 watts/m2)
• ( -40 ) Wind chill warning will be issued. Frostbite possible in less than 10 minutes (similar to the previous 2200 watts/m2)
• ( -45 ) Be ready to cut short or cancel outdoor activities. Frostbite possible in minutes.
• ( -60 ) DANGER! Frostbite possible in under 2 minutes (similar to 2700 watts/m2)

Want to calculate your own wind chill? Here is the formula
Tair = air temperature, V = wind (km/h):
WC = 13.12 + 0.6215 × Tair - 11.37 × V ^0.16 + 0.3965 × Tair × V ^0.16