'Feels like' (apparent temperature) explained in Australia
Why the Bureau's 'feels like' can sit 7 degrees above — or below — the thermometer.
The thermometer says 32°C but the forecast says it will "feel like" 39°C. That gap isn't a mistake — it's the Bureau of Meteorology doing the humidity and wind maths your skin does automatically.
What is apparent temperature?
"Feels like" is the everyday name for apparent temperature: a single figure that blends the air temperature with humidity and wind to estimate how hot or cold conditions actually feel on exposed skin. Your body doesn't experience raw air temperature in isolation. On a still, humid day sweat can't evaporate, so you feel hotter than the thermometer; on a cold, windy morning moving air strips heat away, so you feel colder. Apparent temperature rolls those effects into one honest number.
The formula the Bureau uses
Unlike the United States, which switches between a summer "heat index" and a winter "wind chill", the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) uses a single formula that works across the whole range. It is based on the work of Australian scientist Robert Steadman, whose 1994 model of apparent temperature accounts for air temperature, water vapour pressure (a measure of humidity) and wind speed. The Bureau's operational "feels like" is the shade version of this formula, so one calculation covers a 42°C day in Marble Bar and a 2°C dawn on the Monaro.
Why "feels like" can be hotter than the real temperature
Humidity is the culprit in summer. Your primary cooling system is evaporating sweat, which draws heat off your skin. When the air is already laden with moisture — think a Darwin build-up afternoon or a muggy Brisbane summer — sweat evaporates slowly or not at all, so your body can't shed heat efficiently. The apparent temperature climbs above the measured value to reflect that. This is why humid heat is genuinely more dangerous than dry heat at the same reading, and why the Bureau's "feels like" is a better guide to heat stress than the plain maximum.
Why it can be colder than the real temperature
In winter, wind does the opposite. Still air lets your body warm a thin insulating layer against the skin; a breeze constantly replaces that warmed air with cold air, accelerating heat loss. A 5°C morning in Canberra with a brisk southerly can feel closer to freezing. Because Steadman's formula spans both regimes, the same "feels like" figure that warns of dangerous heat in January warns of wind-driven cold in July — no switching between indices required.
| Actual air temp | Conditions | Feels like | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32°C | High humidity, light wind (tropical north) | Higher | Sweat can't evaporate |
| 38°C | Very dry, breezy (inland desert) | Similar or lower | Efficient evaporative cooling, some wind relief |
| 5°C | Strong cold wind (southern tablelands) | Lower | Wind strips away body heat |
| 10°C | Still, dry | About the same | Little humidity or wind effect |
What the Bureau's figure leaves out
One important caveat: BOM's standard apparent temperature is a shade value. It does not include the full heating effect of direct sunshine. Stand in the open sun on a clear summer day and you can feel several degrees hotter again than the "feels like" number suggests. Solar radiation, the surface you're standing on, your clothing and your activity level all push the real experience beyond a single figure. Treat apparent temperature as a strong baseline, then add for sun exposure and exertion.
How to use it for heat and cold safety
For planning, the apparent temperature is more decision-useful than the plain forecast max. If "feels like" pushes into the high 30s or beyond, treat it as a heat-health day: hydrate early, shift hard work or exercise to the cool of morning, check on older neighbours, and never leave people or pets in cars. In winter, a low "feels like" is your cue to add a windproof layer rather than just a warm one, since wind is doing the damage. Pair the figure with the Bureau's UV index and any heatwave or fire-weather warnings for the full picture.
Feels like across the models
Apparent temperature is only as good as the temperature, humidity and wind that feed it — and those three inputs are exactly where forecast models can differ. checkweather.io's AU edition compares how the major global models (ECMWF, GFS and ICON) handle a given day and turns their level of agreement into a confidence score, with the Bureau linked as the national authority. When the models agree on a hot, humid afternoon, a scorching "feels like" is one to plan around; when they split on the sea breeze or the cloud, the comfort of your afternoon is genuinely up for grabs.