15°C is the temperature where people disagree most. One person puts on shorts at 15°C without a second thought, another reaches for a jacket. Both are right — because 15°C is not one experience.
15°C with sun and no wind: comfortable
On a calm, sunny day at 15°C it feels noticeably warmer. Direct solar radiation adds 4 to 6 degrees to the feels-like temperature. With no wind and full sun you easily reach a feels-like of 19–21°C. For most people that's comfortable enough for shorts.
15°C with wind: be careful
Wind takes a lot of warmth out of a feels-like temperature of 15°C. At 30 km/h wind the feels-like temperature drops to around 9–10°C. Shorts become too cold for most people then, especially if cloud cover is added to the mix.
| Scenario | Air temperature | Feels-like temperature |
|---|---|---|
| Sunny, no wind | 15°C | ~20°C |
| Overcast, no wind | 15°C | ~14°C |
| Overcast, 20 km/h wind | 15°C | ~11°C |
| Overcast, 35 km/h wind | 15°C | ~8°C |
| Rain, 20 km/h wind | 15°C | ~9°C |
Can you wear shorts today?
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The season matters
15°C feels different in May than in September. After a cold winter your body has adapted — 15°C feels relatively warm. In September, after a warm summer, the same temperature already feels chilly. The thermometer says the same thing; your body doesn't.
What does KorteBroekAan.nl do at 15°C?
KorteBroekAan.nl uses the feels-like temperature, not the air temperature. The threshold also depends on your personal sensitivity setting:
- Weakling: shorts only above a feels-like of 20°C
- Average: feels-like above 15°C
- Daring: feels-like above 12°C
- Legend: feels-like above 10°C
At an air temperature of 15°C with no wind and sunshine the feels-like can already exceed 20°C — so even a Weakling gets the green light.
Conclusion
At 15°C everything depends on conditions. Sunny and calm: fine. Overcast and windy: too cold for most. Always check the current feels-like temperature and wind speed before grabbing the shorts.