Hypothermia

[BoredErica]

Hi,

 

I've been playing some Skyrim lately with Frostfall on. That's a hypothermia mod. Skyrim is a very chilly place, often times windy. I want to know how long it takes for a person to freeze to the point of losing conciousness (effectively dying in the wild) or flat out dying in below freezing temps, assuming it is relatively windy. What if you are well dressed? What if you are wearing almost nothing?

The data I can find on this are all about survival in cold water. That's all fine and dandy but data on freezing outside of the water seems rare.

 

I'm not even sure where to ask such a question or what forum to go for such a thing. So I'll just post it here, lol.

Edited January 4, 2014 by dark_wizzie

[acidzebra]

https://sites.google.com/site/skyrimsurvivorseries/frostfall/survival-basics-exposure

[BoredErica]

https://sites.google.com/site/skyrimsurvivorseries/frostfall/survival-basics-exposure

That does not seem to have the information I seek.

[Illiad86]

Are you talking in real life or in the game? Hypothermia doesn't take very long to set in. Right now, where I live, it's -41 F (think that's about the same in C) and frostbite can occur in as little as 5 minutes in this type of weather. Hypothermia would probably occur after 20 or 30 minutes. The more exposed skin, the quicker it would set in, I think.

 

In the game, I never got myself to the point of freezing to death. But when it's snowy and windy, it only takes a couple in game minutes to start getting very cold. Wearing a travel cloak helps with the exposure from rain/snow. Not being wet also helps.

[BoredErica]

Are you talking in real life or in the game? Hypothermia doesn't take very long to set in. Right now, where I live, it's -41 F (think that's about the same in C) and frostbite can occur in as little as 5 minutes in this type of weather. Hypothermia would probably occur after 20 or 30 minutes. The more exposed skin, the quicker it would set in, I think.

 

In the game, I never got myself to the point of freezing to death. But when it's snowy and windy, it only takes a couple in game minutes to start getting very cold. Wearing a travel cloak helps with the exposure from rain/snow. Not being wet also helps.

I'm talking about real life.

 

But how do people who climb mountains or hop around in Alaska survive if you can't stay outside for more than 30 minutes? Or do they not? I'm not even sure, I don't live in such cold areas. Fully clothed, I mean. Of course, freezing in 30 minutes while windy and subzero while naked isn't too surprising.

[Vindekarr]

Well, to be honest I don't think science knows with any certainty. I may be wrong, but from what I understand the only group to ever field-test how long a human can survive hypothermia were the nazis during WWII who would throw naked prisoners into freezing cold water and see how long it took them to die. Little research has been conducted since, for obvious humanitarian reasons.

 

The other complicating factor, is the shear number of complicating factors. Wind-Chill, actual temperature, the person's average and actual core temps, the materials and types of clothing worn, the diet, build, gender and age of the person and hundreds of other things all come into play to make this a nearly impossible question to answer without being a scientist, and unfortunately I didn't study past the first few weeks at med school.