A.D.D. (GRAPHIC!!)

 

        Believe it or not the weather’s effect on body decomposition is a huge part in determining a time of death. One tool that the Medical Examiners will use in determining an approximate day of death is accumulated degree days. Accumulated degree days (ADD) are calculated by taking the max and min temperatures for each day and dividing by 2 to get your average temperature. This is then used by the examiners to assist in figuring out the death day. This will give them a good idea of the weather that the body way exposed too while it was decomposing. If one was to find a body in skeletonization, they could assume that it has been sitting out in the elements for months before it reached that phase. But in reality, if they take into consideration the accumulated degree days, they could in fact find out that the average daily temperature the body was exposed to was around 100 degrees, and determine the day of death was only 4 weeks prior.  Since we know how crucial an accurate time of death is in any investigation, it really highlights the importance of knowing the climates effect on the body.  

 

Photo From: https://mlt.gov.np/post-mortem-changes/late-post-mortem-changes/skeletonization/

References

Megyesi, M., Haskell, N., & Nawrocki, S. (2004). Using Accumulated Degree-Days to Estimate the Postmortem Interval from Decomposed Human Remains. Journal of Forensic Science , Volume 50, Issue 3.