There’s hot. And then there’s New Orleans hot.
Anyone who’s spent time here knows the difference.
The air feels heavy. The humidity wraps around you. A short walk from the house to the car can leave you wondering whether you should have packed a change of clothes.
It’s also the time of year when people start making the same comparison: It feels like a sauna outside.
And in some ways, they’re right.
Saunas have become increasingly popular for relaxation, recovery and cardiovascular health. Research suggests regular sauna use may help support circulation, lower blood pressure and reduce cardiovascular risk over time. Many people also simply enjoy the ritual of it – a chance to slow down, unplug and recharge.
But does a sweltering summer day in New Orleans offer the same experience?
Not exactly.
Why New Orleans heat feels different
To better understand why Louisiana heat feels the way it does, I turned to two weather experts: retired WDSU Chief Meteorologist Margaret Orr and WGNO meteorologist Carrigan Chauvin.
Understanding why Louisiana heat feels so different starts with one important fact: sweat itself isn’t what cools us.
“Our bodies like to stay near 98.6 degrees,” explains Carrigan. “When body temperature rises, sweat is released onto the skin. But the cooling doesn’t happen because we’re sweating. The cooling happens when that sweat evaporates.”
That’s where Louisiana humidity changes everything.
“When it’s humid outside, that air is thick, that air feels wet,” she said. “We may be sweating like crazy, but if our sweat can’t evaporate well, our body’s cooling mechanism isn’t working nearly as efficiently as it would in a drier climate.”
It’s also why meteorologists pay so much attention to heat index.
Heat index is essentially the “feels like” temperature you see on your weather app. It combines air temperature and relative humidity to estimate how the heat actually feels.
That’s why a 95-degree day in New Orleans can feel dramatically different from a 95-degree day in Arizona.
How does a sauna compare?
When people compare Louisiana to a sauna, they’re usually thinking about steam. But there are actually several different types of saunas.
A traditional dry sauna typically operates between 150 and 195 degrees with relatively low humidity. Steam rooms are ‘cooler,’ generally around 110 to 120 degrees, but humidity approaches 100 percent. Infrared saunas use radiant heat and usually operate between 120 and 140 degrees.
On paper, every one of those environments is hotter than a typical Louisiana summer day.
Yet many people tolerate a sauna just fine.
Carrigan describes it as “time under tension.”
A sauna is controlled exposure. You choose to enter. You stay for a limited amount of time. You’re usually sitting quietly, often hydrating before and afterward. Most people spend 10 to 20 minutes inside before cooling off.
Louisiana heat is different.
It’s the morning walk with the dog, the afternoon sports, gardening, outdoor work, youth sports and hours spent running errands in August.
Even though the temperature may be lower than a sauna, the exposure is often much longer, notes Carrigan.
The challenge isn’t just the heat
That prolonged exposure is one reason Margaret Orr believes people sometimes underestimate the risks.
“We’ve got to be careful,” she told me.
Margaret spent decades helping New Orleanians understand weather patterns, storms and heat waves and everything in between. She also noted that heat affects her differently now than it once did.
“I just can’t handle the heat like I used to,” she said.
Margaret is particularly concerned about stretches when nighttime temperatures remain above 80 degrees. Those warm nights reduce the body’s opportunity to recover from the day’s heat.
Her advice is practical: take frequent breaks in air conditioning, seek shade whenever possible and use cold towels or washcloths on the neck and behind the knees to cool the body more quickly.
Hydration is also one of the simplest ways we can support our body’s cooling system. Water is still the foundation, but on the hottest days, especially when we’re sweating heavily, we may need more than water alone.
Electrolytes help replace what we lose in sweat, particularly sodium. For heavy sweaters, a higher-sodium option such as LMNT can help replace larger sodium losses.
The goal isn’t perfection or carrying a special drink everywhere you go. It’s paying attention to what your body is telling you and staying ahead of dehydration before it turns into fatigue, headaches or heat illness.
Louisiana isn’t literally a sauna. In fact, most saunas are significantly hotter.
But Louisiana’s combination of heat, humidity and prolonged exposure creates its own challenge. The sweat doesn’t evaporate as efficiently. Our built-in cooling system doesn’t work as well. And unlike a sauna session, the heat often doesn’t let up after 15 minutes.
Which brings us back to Carrigan’s phrase.
“It’s time under tension.”
When it comes to New Orleans heat, that may be the most important factor of all.
