Is Outside Temperature Measured In the Sun or In the Shade?

When you wake up in the morning and check the weather forecast, the temperature for the day might read 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When you think about the temperature forecast, most people imagine a thermometer being outside in the hot sun and they picture it taking in the sun’s rays and displaying a reading. You would think that if the weather report says 100 degrees, then in the shade it might be cooler, perhaps 80-90 degrees. That is actually incorrect!

Weather forecasts measure outdoor temperatures in the shade. If the weather report says 100 degrees, then that means that the temperature is actually 100 degrees in areas that are fully shaded from the sun’s rays.

Why Would the Weather Forecast Measure Temperature in The Shade?

For a thermometer to accurately measure the temperature of the environment, it needs to be located in the shade so that it is not affected by the solar radiation from sunlight. If a thermometer were in the sun, the solar radiation would heat up the thermometer, and the resulting temperature would measuring the warmed up thermometer, not the environment around the thermometer.

Temperature in the Shade vs. Temperature in the Sunlight

In the shade, you may feel 10-15 degrees cooler, but the temperature is the exact same as the temperature in full sunlight. Shade only feels cooler because you are avoiding solar radiation. In reality, the temperature in the sun is the same as the temperature in the shade. That being said, solar radiation can make a huge difference in how you might feel about the temperature. When in the shade, your skin is not being “heated” by the sun’s rays, so your skin and your body feel a more comfortable temperature. When your outside and not under shade of some kind, solar radiation warm the skin and makes your body’s natural ways of cooling down less effective at cooling you down.