20°C has a reputation. It's the number people point to as the turn-of-the-season threshold, the temperature at which summer clothing becomes reasonable. And on a still, sunny, dry day it holds up: 20°C under a clear sky can feel like 25°C, and shorts are a perfectly sensible choice.
Add wind, and the story changes. A 40 km/h wind at 20°C brings the feels-like temperature down to around 14°C. That's not shorts weather for most people. Add overcast skies on top of that and you're looking at 11 to 12°C felt temperature.
The conditions that determine whether 20°C is actually comfortable
| Conditions at 20°C | Feels-like | Shorts? |
|---|---|---|
| Sunny, no wind | ~25°C | Yes |
| Sunny, 20 km/h wind | ~18°C | Yes |
| Overcast, no wind | ~19°C | Yes |
| Overcast, 30 km/h wind | ~14°C | Maybe |
| Overcast, 45 km/h wind | ~11°C | Long trousers |
| Rain, 25 km/h wind | ~12°C | Long trousers |
The bottom of that table is the same thermometer reading as the top, and yet the reasonable clothing choices are completely different. This is why "it said 20°C" is not always a satisfying answer when someone asks why you're cold.
The threshold question
By default, KorteBroekAan.nl recommends shorts when the feels-like temperature is above 15°C and the rain chance is below 90%. On a still, sunny 20°C day that threshold is comfortably exceeded. On a windy, overcast 20°C day it may not be, or it may be a marginal call. The threshold is also adjustable: Daring lowers it to above 10°C (with a rain chance below 95%), Weakling never recommends shorts and Legend always does.
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The point isn't that 20°C is bad or misleading as a number. It's that the number alone is insufficient. Two days at 20°C can feel like two different seasons depending on what's happening in the air around that temperature.
If 15°C seems like a more interesting puzzle, that article is here. The full breakdown of what goes into the feels-like calculation is across the Weather Explained section.
Further reading
Related articles in the Weather Explained section:
Read next
Why 15 degrees sometimes feels warm and sometimes cold
15°C in April after a cold winter feels like liberation. The same temperature in September feels like summer is over. Both reactions make complete sense.
Why temperature alone is not enough for clothing advice
The thermometer reading is measured in shade, at a standard height, in a sheltered housing. It doesn't reflect how you actually stand outside. Here's everything else that matters.
Why cloud cover matters for clothing advice
The same thermometer reading feels completely different under a clear sky versus a grey one. Cloud cover changes how much solar radiation actually reaches you.
Why direct sunlight feels warmer
15°C in full sun, no wind, a sheltered bench. It feels genuinely pleasant. Here's the physics of why solar radiation adds warmth the thermometer doesn't measure.
Can I wear shorts at 20 degrees? Usually, yes
Yes, 20°C (68°F) is usually shorts weather. Only overcast skies with wind or rain drop the feels-like to 13–16°C. When to think twice.