Why Do We Feel Colder Walking into the Wind?

A curious reader asks the Boston Globe’s Dr. Knowledge why we feel colder walking into the wind than walking with the wind. The main reason, opines Dr. Knowledge, is that we generally face the direction we walk, and we generally leave our faces uncovered. The good doctor advises us that if there is evaporation from the skin (from sweat or any other
moisture), then wind plays a big role in carrying moisture-laden warm
air away and presenting a fresh surface of dry air into which
evaporation can take place, carrying away additional body heat and
increasing the feeling of cold. The doctor suggests that there is also likely a psychological factor in some conditions, which
is the feeling of pushing on forward in the face of a cold oncoming
wind – this just reinforces the feeling of being cold and struggling
with it.
Read more from Dr. Knowledge.