Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
DISCOMFORT INDEX
DISCOMFORT INDEX. Faced with disapproval of the name, the United States Weather Bureau in June, 1959 indicated that it had given the controversial index a new name. Suggesting that it might in the future be called the "T-H index" for temperature-humidity, the order came as a compromise with businessmen who wanted the name to be changed from "discomfort" to "comfort."
The decision was made that if the index read 75 or below it would be called the "comfort index." If the index went above 75 it would be called the "discomfort index." Based on a combination of temperature and humidity, the Weather Bureau claimed people became uncomfortable at this key point.
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Source:
"Discomfort Index to Get New Name," Telegraph Herald, June 14, 1959, p. 1
