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Wet-Bulb Temperature Calculator

Find the wet-bulb temperature — the lowest temperature reachable by evaporative cooling — from air temperature and relative humidity.

Stull approximation — most accurate near sea-level pressure and RH 5–99%.

About this tool

The Wet-Bulb Temperature Calculator estimates the wet-bulb temperature (Tw) — the temperature a parcel of air would reach if cooled to saturation by evaporating water into it at constant pressure. It is the reading a thermometer wrapped in a wet wick shows in a moving airstream, and it sets the hard physical limit on how much cooling sweat or a swamp cooler can deliver. A sustained wet-bulb near 35°C is considered the survivability threshold for humans.

This tool uses the Stull (2011) empirical formula: Tw = T·atan(0.151977·√(RH+8.313659)) + atan(T+RH) − atan(RH−1.676331) + 0.00391838·RH^1.5·atan(0.023101·RH) − 4.686035, with temperature T in °C, relative humidity RH in %, and the arctangents evaluated in radians. It is accurate to within a few tenths of a degree near standard sea-level pressure (1013.25 hPa) for RH between 5% and 99% and T from −20°C to 50°C.

Everything runs locally in your browser — no data leaves the page. Enter the air temperature (°C or °F) and relative humidity; the result is shown in both °C and °F along with the wet-bulb depression (the gap between dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperature), which widens as the air gets drier. Accuracy degrades at high altitude or far from standard pressure.

Frequently asked questions

What is wet-bulb temperature?
It is the lowest temperature air can reach through evaporative cooling alone. Because evaporation stops once the air is saturated, the wet-bulb temperature caps how effective sweating or evaporative coolers can be — a key heat-stress metric.
Which formula does this use?
The Stull (2011) single-equation approximation from air temperature and relative humidity. It is valid near standard sea-level pressure for RH 5–99% and temperatures of −20°C to 50°C, matching iterative psychrometric solutions within a few tenths of a degree.
Why is wet-bulb near 35°C dangerous?
The human body sheds heat by evaporating sweat. When the wet-bulb temperature approaches skin temperature (~35°C), evaporation can no longer cool the body, so core temperature rises even at rest — a fatal condition without cooling.
Is this the same as the dew point?
No. The dew point is the temperature at which water vapor condenses at constant pressure; the wet-bulb temperature accounts for evaporative cooling and always lies between the dew point and the dry-bulb (air) temperature.

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