Which environmental condition can affect post-mortem temperature assessment?

Humidity levels can significantly impact post-mortem temperature assessment due to their influence on the rate of heat loss from a body. When humidity is high, the air is saturated with moisture, which can slow down the process of evaporation from the skin's surface. Evaporation is one of the primary methods through which the body loses heat, particularly following death. If the air is very humid, the body retains heat longer than it would in a dry environment, potentially leading to an inaccurate estimation of time since death based on temperature alone.

Conversely, in a dry environment, moisture can evaporate more quickly from the surface of the skin, leading to a more rapid loss of body heat. This interplay makes humidity a critical factor in calculating post-mortem intervals and understanding the environmental context surrounding a death investigation. Other factors like visibility conditions, the season of the year, and the type of clothing worn may influence the thermal environment indirectly, but none directly affect the physiological mechanisms of heat loss in the same way that humidity does.