Comfort and Health

It is easy not to appreciate the full impact of the atmosphere on human well biophysical and psychological. Violent weather is obviously traumatic, causing injury and death to thousands every year; the effects of polluted air, though not so dramatic can still be tragic, particularly for the very young and very old with already existing lung problems. Sometimes the weather has such subtle influences that the hows and whys remain a mystery. For example, certain asthmatics find miracles in the desert air of southern Arizona while others find only disappointment, and the reasons for the differences still have not been found. It is sometimes difficult to specify in detail how the weather affects human behavior and psychological well-being, but there is no doubt that it does. Who can forget the joys of the first warm, sunny days of spring after a seemingly endless cold, gloomy winter? Also, it is well established that the strong, dry, gusty winds of the alpine foe and the California Santa Ana are associated with increases in abnormal behavior. No one needs to be told which weather conditions are physically pleasant and which ones cause discomfort. The most important element is temperature, but strong winds make cold days scent colder and hot days hotter and have many other effects as well. Even at moderate temperatures, atmospheric humanities affect human perception of air temperature. When the relative humidity is low, most people react as if the temperature were below its true value; when humidity is high, the opposite occurs. Investigations have been made of the losses and gains of heat by the human body as functions of temperature, humidity, and wind speed. Such information is particularly important in the design of clothing for use by people living and working in extreme environments . For example, the maintenance crews along the Alaskan oil pipeline must be protected from the frigid conditions that can cause frostbite or hypothermia. •