How Should We Deal with Extremely Hot Weather?

Staying cool and healthy on the hottest days of summer is important for us all. In this post, we will share what you should do in extremely hot weather. We have many practical suggestions for you from cooling down under the A/C, drinking more water to adjusting your plans to avoid heat and staying in communication with your loved ones. Let us discover ways to deal with extremely hot weather together!

What Should We Do on Extremely Hot Days?

Increasing heat waves with the effects of climate change, decreasing water resources, disturbed food chain and life environment all have negative impacts on human health. Climate change also has negative impacts on the access to clean water, clean air, sustaining social structure, safe housing, and food security. With the change in distribution of disease-carrying vectors, the numbers of infectious diseases, diarrheal diseases, extreme weather events and diseases and fatalities due to air pollution can be seen to have increased. Hot weather especially threatens the health of vulnerable groups such as elderly people, babies, and people with chronic diseases.

Prevent health problems due to heat by cooling down and hydrating in hot weather. Plan ahead and stay in communication with others.

1) Stay cool
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• Use A/C, if any. You can also decrease the cost of A/C by using a fan and increasing the thermostat temperature of your A/C unit to 26-27˚C.

• Electric fans can help with cooling down the body when the interior temperature is below 39-40˚C.

• Keep your skin moist using a spray bottle or a humid sponge.

• Dip a towel into chilly water and wrap it around your head loosely.

• Take a cool shower with chilly water.

• Wear light and loose outfits.

• Visit air-conditioned buildings such as malls and public libraries.

• Open windows and doors if you think the interior is hotter than the exterior.

2) Stay hydrated
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• Drink water before feeling thirsty on the days you are exposed to extreme heat, especially if you are physically active.

• Carry a bottle of water with you when you go out.

• Notice dehydration symptoms such as thirst, dizziness, dry mouth, tiredness, dark-colored, heavy-smelling urine or urinating less than usual.

3) Plan ahead
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• Cancel or reschedule unnecessary trips in extreme heat.

• Schedule important activities for the coolest part of the day.

• If you need to go out, bring a bottle of water with you, search for a shaded place and use a hat and sunscreen to protect your skin.

• Follow weather forecasts and warnings. Check heat wave forecasts through TV, Internet, and social media.

• Stock food, water, and medicine to avoid needing to get out in the heat.

• Ensure that foods and medicines are kept at the right temperatures.

• Consult your physician to check whether a change is needed in your drugs in extreme heat.

• Check whether your fan or A/C unit is working properly. Do not neglect maintenance of your A/C unit if needed.

• Check out the things you can do to make your home a cooler place; for example, installing reflective coatings, insulation, glasses, external window sunshades, shade clothes or external blinds and planting trees around the house to provide shade.

4) Be in solidarity
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Stay in communication with the people who are at substantial risk or may need your support on extremely hot days. You can help your relatives and friends who are at substantial risk in terms of health issues associated with the heat as follows.

• Call or visit them regularly to see how they are dealing with the issue, especially if they live alone.

• Immediately seek medical help if they show any signs of a health problem due to heat.

• Encourage them to stay cool and drink water.

• Offer to do their shopping or run errands for them at times suitable for you for them to avoid heat.

• Take them to some place cool during the day at times suitable for you. Such as a mall, movie theater, library, etc...

5) Do not exercise in extreme heats
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Working and exercising in hot weather increase health problem risks associated with the heat. For people who are outside in hot weather:

• Cancel working out in the open or heavy exercises or reschedule them for a cooler day, if possible.

• Schedule important activities for the coolest part of the day.

• Take more frequent and longer breaks when possible.

• Prefer shaded environments with natural air movement.

• Reduce temperature with exterior fogging fans and help your body to cool down.

• Do not stay dehydrated - consume at least half a liter of water within 2 hours before exercising in general.

• Target to drink approximately 200 ml of liquid every 20 minutes during exercise.

What are the Health Issues Associated with Heat?

It is easy to dehydrate or our body to overheat in extremely hot weather. The heat can cause serious and potentially fatal health problems such as exhaustion and heat stroke, trigger sudden events such as heart attacks or stroke, or worsen existing medical conditions such as kidney or lung diseases. Extreme heat affects circulation and respiratory systems. Especially vulnerable groups such as elderly people, patients of chronic circulation and/or respiratory diseases, babies and people with disabilities are seriously threatened by the extremely hot weather.

Who are at Risk in Extremely Hot Weather?

Extremely hot weather may affect everyone. The people who are more at risk are people over the age of 65, babies and infants, pregnant women, and people with acute or chronic health conditions.

People over the age of 65 are more vulnerable to health problems related to heat since their bodies are less able to adapt to the changes in the temperatures. In addition, these people are more likely to have other medical conditions and to use drugs that can prevent the body’s ability to adjust temperature. Elderly people with medical conditions should have their care plans reviewed by their physicians before the weather gets hot to ensure that these conditions are well in check. Ask your physician whether your risk of health problems due to heat increases in hot weather. Your physician may advise you to adjust your liquid intake, avoid some drugs or adjust the dosages in extremely hot periods.

Babies and infants need special care during hot weather since they are less able to handle temperature changes.

• Do not ever leave babies or infants in the car.

• Provide additional breast milk or bottle-nursing to babies in hot weather and encourage children to drink water regularly.

• Dress babies and kids in light and loose clothes in hot weather.

Have a Healthy and Cool Summer!

Dealing with extremely hot weather is an important subject to take notice of in order to protect our health. Staying cool, drinking lots of water, scheduling daily activities according to the heat and staying in communication with our loved ones are among the simple but effective measures we can take during this period. We need to be extra careful about elderly people, children and people with chronic diseases who are especially at risk. Do not forget, extreme heat can affect everyone, and these measures can save lives. We wish you a healthy and cool summer, thanks for reading!