Why Dew Point Is This Summer's 'It Girl'

Short Wave

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🗓️ 4 July 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

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Summary

Happy Independence Day, Short Wavers! Do you have plans outdoors this weekend and want to figure out just how swampy it's gonna feel? For that kind of mental preparation, we're revisiting an episode in which some meteorologists are telling us to pay more attention to dew point temperature, not relative humidity.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
0:05.4	RWJF is a national philanthropy, working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right.
0:12.1	Learn more at RWJF.org.
0:15.8	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
0:21.6	Hey, shortwaver, Emily Kwong here.
0:24.2	Okay, I know Summer just got here, but she is making her feelings known.
0:28.8	There have been so many 90 and 100 degree days and afternoon thunderstorms, and then there
0:34.4	was last month's heat dome, which brought oppressive heat to the eastern half of the U.S.
0:39.6	Experts forecast that heat waves will only become more intense and more frequent with climate change.
0:45.2	So how can we proceed with summer safely?
0:48.9	Well, I'll let you in on a little secret.
0:51.2	It's called The Dew Point.
0:53.8	Former shortwave producer Thomas Liu
0:55.7	reported this episode out a few years ago.
0:58.6	You'll hear him chatting with my former co-host,
1:00.3	Maddie Safaya, about what the
1:02.1	do-point is and why
1:04.1	some meteorol just say it's the key
1:06.2	to understanding how truly
1:07.9	swampy it is outside.
1:10.4	Stay cool and keep listening to Shorewave,
1:12.4	the science podcast from NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
	...

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