Stadia Sports Medicine

What is the wet bulb globe temperature?
The wet bulb globe temperature is a type of temperature measurement that accounts for the effects of temperature, humidity, and radiant energy. The required inputs for the index are measured by a wet-bulb globe temperature meter. The standard wet-bulb globe temperature meter in use by the Navy, called the "Navy Heat Stress Meter," gives a digital readout of dry- and wet-bulb temperatures and globe temperature, and computes a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index. Although similar to an electric psychrometer in that it has shielded, fan-ventilated dry- and wet-bulb thermometers, this device also has a globe temperature meter (a flat-black metal sphere that measures radiant energy). When used in an outdoor environment, the WBGT index is the only index that compensates for the heating caused by direct or reflected sunshine. A variation of the computation, although not routinely used, also compensates for the cooling effect of the wind. There are published thresholds for football which use the WBGT to determine safe and unsafe practice zones(see the link to the chart below). The risk for any given practice day is determined by the WBGT of the day prior to, and day of the practice in question.

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