What is Cold Water?
65F (18C)
52F (11C)
33F (0.5C)
Interesting Temperature Facts
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99.6F (37.5C) Core temperature of your body.
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98.6F (37C) Normal body temperature measured with an oral thermometer.
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95F (35C) Medical definition of hypothermia.
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91F (32.7C) Your skin temperature.
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85F (29.4C) Water feels pleasantly cool.
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77-82F (25-28C) Pool temperature range for Olympic swimming competition. Below 77F breathing is adversely affected.​
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70F (21C) Water feels quite cold to most people. Wear thermal protection below this level.
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50-60F (10-15.5C) Maximum Intensity cold shock range. Complete loss of breathing control. Swimming failure.
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45F (7C) Water is painfully cold.
Cold Water Safety Temperatures
You should treat any water temperature below 70F with caution.
Learn why we use 70F (21C) when recommending that people consider wearing thermal protection like wetsuits and drysuits.
Bottom Line:
There's a huge difference between the way cold air and cold water feel. For example, 45F (7C) air feels cold, but 45F (7C) water feels like it's burning your skin. Water has much greater density than air so it immediately destroys most of the insulation provided by your clothing. It also conducts heat away from your body 25 times faster than air.