How hot is the ground?

Answer 1

Temperature at ground level depends on location (where in what country), the ground surface (grass versus asphalt or pavement), surrounding features (hills, valleys, trees, buildings), air temperature, weather conditions, amount of wind, season of the year, and probably a few other facts that escape me right now. Just for some comparisons, think about these situations:

• Most people can tolerate 20 F degrees for short periods if dressed properly.
• Below 32 F the top layers of the soil freeze solid.
• When snow covers a surface, the ground feels even colder.
• Wet pavement in summer can feel warm, but in winter it can feel colder than air temps.
• A nice 70 F on a windless, high humidity day can "feel" up to 8 degress F hotter because of the "dewpoint" effects of hunidity. A 90 degree F daytime temp can feel close to 101 degrees in the city.
  
• Buildings and pavement trap heat. It can feel 10 degrees hotter or more in major cities.
• A rainstorm can cool off air temperatures-- or it can make air to ground feel even hotter because of adding moisture to the air.
• Sitting under trees on grass is obviously much cooler than sitting on pavement.
• But sitting on a grassy plain in Africa would feel hotter, despite finding a few trees.
• Sitting for a short time in any desert in summertime at high noon would be physically dangerous.
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