The cooling of the body after death is known as algor mortis, and it is one of the stages in the process of postmortem changes in a deceased individual. The rate of body cooling can vary depending on several factors, including the environmental conditions, the individual's body mass, clothing, and the ambient temperature.
Generally, after death, the body starts losing heat and begins to cool down at a rate of about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.83 degrees Celsius) per hour during the first 12 hours. After the initial 12 hours, the rate of cooling slows down to about 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.55 degrees Celsius) per hour. However, these rates can vary, and external factors can influence the cooling process.
It's important to note that algor mortis is just one aspect of the postmortem changes that occur after death. Other changes, such as livor mortis (settling of blood), rigor mortis (stiffening of muscles), and decomposition, also take place and contribute to the overall understanding of the timeline of events after death. Forensic experts use these postmortem changes to estimate the time of death in certain cases, but they are not precise and can be affected by various factors.