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Throughout July, as temperatures have soared across the D.C. region, meteorologists have been referring to a metric known as the 鈥渉eat index鈥� to describe just how hot it has actually been.

The metric, according to 7海角社区app First Alert Meteorologist Mark Pe帽a, refers to 鈥測our internal temperature鈥檚 reaction to the heat and humidity.鈥�

In other words, the heat index, or feels-like temperature, is the temperature that the human body actually feels instead of just the air temperature, Pe帽a said.

The heat index combines biology and meteorology, Pe帽a said. When forecasters refer to the feels-like temperature, it鈥檚 not an estimate, but rather an exact number calculated using a complex formula, he said.

鈥淲hat it boils down to, it’s what your body reacts to with the heat and humidity combined,鈥� Pe帽a said.

The National Weather Service has strict guidelines for the criteria it uses to issue weather warnings, and Pe帽a said an Excessive Heat Warning is issued with feels-like temperatures of up to 110 degrees. A Heat Advisory is issued for feels-like temperatures up to 105 degrees, he said.

Across the D.C. region Monday, Pe帽a said there are a mix of Heat Advisories and Excessive Heat Warnings.

鈥淣o matter how you want to look at it, it鈥檚 hot everywhere,鈥� Pe帽a said. 鈥淲e all just want to make sure we鈥檙e staying cool.鈥�

Human bodies regulate internal temperatures through sweat when it鈥檚 hot outside, but Pe帽a said sweating can only cool someone down if it can evaporate from your skin. When it鈥檚 humid and there鈥檚 less moisture in the air, it makes it harder for sweat to cool people off.

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鈥淲henever your body is unable to cool itself off, that’s whenever heatstroke and heat exhaustion can come into play,鈥� Pe帽a said. 鈥淎nd those can get serious really fast.鈥�

To stay safe in environments with high heat indexes, Pe帽a recommends taking breaks in the shade, hydrating and wearing light, loose-fitting clothing.

Do people know what the heat index is?

At Tysons Corner Center on Monday afternoon, a few shoppers did know what the heat index meant.

鈥淚 assume it’s what it actually feels like, you combine the temperature in the air, the humidity, and it’s feeling a lot hotter than it should be right now,鈥� Steven Weber said.

Weber said he became familiar with the term because 鈥渋t鈥檚 been really hot for weeks, so I keep seeing the word heat index.鈥�

Few others we talked to were similarly accurate.

David, for one, guessed it鈥檚 鈥渢he combination of the dew point and the actual temperature.鈥�

Nathan, meanwhile, suspected it referred to 鈥減robably just how hot it is.鈥�

Others guessed 鈥渉ow hot it is compared to other places鈥� or 鈥渉ow much UV radiation鈥� there is.