If walking outside in NYC lately has actually felt like you’re swimming through the air, like overnight the city has turned into one giant steam room, we know just where to place the blame: corn. We’re not sure if you knew this–we most certainly did not–but “corn sweat” is a real thing. No, it’s not a joke, it’s science! And it may just be contributing to why NYC is so f&%*ing hot right now.
As you know, NYC is currently blanketed under a smoggy heat inferno, with Real Feel temps climbing into the triple digits, and not only are we sweating, but the corn is as well.
Officially known as evapotranspiration, the corn sweat phenomenon happens when corn plants, along with other crops, release water vapor through their leaves to cool themselves off–essentially nature’s version of sweating. But instead of millions of New Yorkers sweating underground on the NYC subway (though that’s also still happening…) it’s millions of acres of corn across the Midwest perspiring.
What does corn sweat have to do with NYC?
Why does this affect us, you may ask? Well, the thing about corn sweat is that, unfortunately, all that the moisture doesn’t just linger–it drifts and spreads. So midwesterners aren’t the only ones facing the consequences.
Even though you wouldn’t exactly think of NYC as a corny place (see what we did there?!), we’re close enough to the Hudson Valley’s cornfields–and even the ones across the Midwest–that we get slapped in the face with the steamy side effects. That means extra humidity, especially when summer heat waves already have the city broiling like a dollar slice and our recent transition to a subtropical climate.
How much corn sweat are we talking?
An acre of corn can pump up to 4,000 gallons of water a day into the air. Multiply that by tens of millions of acres–plus the roughly 80 million acres of soybeans planted in the Midwest that also sweat–and you’ve got a humid, soupy cloud being blown in our direction by summer wind patterns. And right now corn season is at its peak, meaning it’s in full sweat mode.
Pollination? It’s happening. Corn? It’s leaking. New Yorkers? We’re sweating.
The dangers of corn sweat
We already know that when the air is this humid, sweat doesn’t evaporate as easily, trapping heat and causing body temperature to rise dangerously fast. So while it may only be, let’s say, 95º, with corn sweat factored in it can feel like 105º.
The result? Those scorching, triple-digit Real Feel temps have us feeling like “I’m never leaving my apartment ever again.”
Stay cool, NYC
As always, NYC residents are urged to sign up for the Notify NYC emergency system for any alerts and familiarize themselves with NYC’s Beat the Heat, a guide to managing extreme weather conditions.
Plus, use cooling centers and water sprayers to your advantage, and avoid peak sun hours. Stay cool, stay safe, and stay away from corn!