I know you think it’s hard. We were taught temperature in the Fahrenheit scale. It’s all we know. Now forget it.

The problem in understanding the Celsius scale us that we try to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, or the other way around and it becomes too confusing. I say it again, forget the Fahrenheit scale. It’s the best way to understand the Celsius scale.

Why? Because most of the time we only care about the temperature to know how to dress, so try this:

• -20°C   – Why are you outside?
• -10°C    – It’s really cold. Gloves and a  muffler with your winter coat.
• 0°C      – It’s cold. You need a winter coat.
• 10°C    – It’s cool. Jacket weather.
• 20°C   – It’s comfortable. Maybe long sleeves.
• 30°C   – It’s getting hot. Short sleeve and shorts.
• 40°C  – It’s really hot. Find the nearest air-conditioned room.

That’s it. If you can count by 10’s you can understand the Celsius scale. Okay, I’ll let you see the corresponding temperatures in Fahrenheit:

• -20°C   – Why are you outside? (-4°F)
• -10°C – It’s really cold. Gloves and a  muffler with that winter coat. (14°F)
• 0°C      – It’s cold. You need a winter coat. (32°F)
• 10°C     – It’s cool. Jacket weather. (50°F)
• 20°C   – It’s comfortable. Maybe long sleeves. (68°F)
• 30°C    – It’s getting hot. Short sleeves and shorts. (86°F)
• 40°C – It’s really hot. Find the nearest air-conditioned room. (104°F)

If it helps, just remember that 20°C is comfortable if there is no wind. Every 10° up or down from that temperature is going to be a significant change in comfort level. It’s that simple.

Okay, if you’re a cook, the Celsius scale is a little more challenging, but baby steps, baby steps.