The heat index combines air temperature and relative humidity in an attempt to determine the human-perceived equivalent temperature — how hot it feels, termed the felt air temperature. The human body normally cools itself by perspiration, or sweating, which evaporates and carries heat away from the body. When the relative humidity is high, the evaporation rate is reduced, so heat is removed from the body at a lower rate causing it to retain more heat than it would in dry air. The heat index contains assumptions about the human body mass and height, clothing, and the wind speed. Significant deviations from these conditions will result in heat index values which do not accurately reflect the perceived temperature.

Forecasted heat indices for the Maltese Islands:

Wind chill is the apparent temperature felt on exposed skin, which is a function of the air temperature and wind speed. The wind chill temperature is always lower than the air temperature, except at higher temperatures where wind chill is considered less important. As the air temperature falls, the chilling effect of any wind that is present increases. Wind chill is calculated when temperature is less than 10^oC and wind speed is greater than 1.5m/s.

Forecasted wind chill factors for the Maltese Islands:

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