MACON, Ga. — During the heat of summer, most people think about what to wear to keep cool. Most people choose to wear lightweight or breathable clothing, but have you ever considered what colors to wear?
Certain colors absorb and trap the sunlight more than others. Light-colored clothing easily reflects the sunlight, while dark clothes have trouble reflecting the sun's rays.
Because of that, the dark-colored clothing traps the heat from the sun. This then makes you feel much hotter.
In the weather world, we call the reflection of light due to colors "albedo." Albedo is measured on a scale from 0 to 1, where 0 is least reflective and 1 is highly reflective. Black is on the zero-end of the scale, while white has an albedo value close to one.
This works the same way for pavement. Because pavement colors are usually close to black, the ground absorbs the sunlight easily. That is why pavement heats up quickly and can be 20-30 degrees hotter than the actual air temperature.
Using meteorology and physics, we know why it's best to wear light-colored clothing on hot, sunny days, and that's how your weather works!
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