Here's some best practices to stay alert and follow during heatwaves or during intensely hot and humid summer weather
While it is wise to avoid travelling or venturing out during heatwaves and avoid visiting places where severe heatwaves or very hot and humid weather conditions are predicted, sometimes you may unfortunately find yourself at such places or the weather may get worse after you get there.
So, here are a few useful tips and best practices to stay alert and take precautions during very hot and humid summer weather conditions or during heatwaves.
💧 Keep yourself hydrated - Drink plenty of water 💧
It is important to drink plenty of water and avoid dehydration. Don't avoid drinking water when you're thirsty and ensure that you always carry enough water with you wherever you go.
Also note that if you get dehydrated, drinking more water alone won't help you or can make the matters worse. In such cases, you'll need to have water with ORS or have some juicy fruits to replenish fluids in your body in a balanced manner. (See below section for more on that)
🥤 🍉 Keep ORS, fruits, and fluids handy 🍊
Intense hot and humid weather will cause excessive sweating that leads to loss of water and fluids in your body, along with loss of essential electrolytes.
During such occasions, just drinking more water alone won't help as it won't replenish the loss of electrolytes caused by dehydration. Drinking more water.
Drinking only water during dehydration is a problem because it dilutes your remaining body salts. As water alone lacks essential electrolytes (like sodium and potassium) needed for your body, drinking only more water during dehydration can cause a dangerous condition called hyponatremia.
This is where ORS and other items such as fruits come in handy. ORS means Oral Re-hydration Salts which are very useful and highly effective for dehydration caused by various reasons, including excessive sweating during intense summer heat.
Ensure that you only use a WHO approved formula. It is usually available as a powder in sachets, which you can easily mix with water and drink it. Beware of some readily available drinks named as "ORS" but they won't actually be an ORS. Get a WHO approved formula ORS from a proper medical store.
Consuming fruits and fluids also helps to keep hydrated during intense heat. If available, tender coconut water is also an excellent natural remedy for dehydration in very hot and humid weather.
Fruits like Watermelon, Musk Melon, etc., help replenish lost fluids due to extreme heat and sweating, while providing essential nutrients.
So, keep ORS, juicy fruits or fluids handy so that you'll be able to have them when you need them.
🚫 Avoid consuming Too Much Tea, Coffee, or Sugary Drinks, and Don't consume Alcoholic drinks 🚫
Tea and coffee in excess, and alcoholic drinks in general, can cause fluid loss and dehydration.
While consuming tea or coffee in small or moderate amounts won't cause any issue, having a lot or too much of them may cause dehydration.
Alcohol acts as a strong diuretic and causes your kidneys to expel fluids rapidly, which leads to dehydration, which is why drinking alcoholic drinks should better be avoided in heatwave conditions.
It is wise to avoid sugary drinks like soft drinks which contain a lot of added sugar, or even tea or coffee with sugar, as drinks with high amounts of sugar can actively pull water out of your cells and contribute to dehydration.
👕 Wear light-coloured, loose cotton clothes 👕
Light-coloured clothes reflect more sunlight and heat, which is why it is highly recommended in very hot weather conditions. Dark-coloured clothes absorb more heat and sunlight, which is why they're not recommended.
Wearing loose-fitting cotton clothes is better in hot and humid weather as it allows more air movement between your body and the fabric and helps absorb the sweat or moisture from your body so that it can evaporate.
Tight-fitting clothes will cause you to sweat more and hinder losing excess heat from your body, causing you severe discomfort and issues.
🧢 Avoid direct sunlight during peak day time or afternoon hours ☀️
Avoid going outside under the hot sun during the the time of the day when the heat and sunlight is higher, that would be at times between 10:30 or 11:00 AM and 04:00 or 04:30 PM, and especially during the afternoon, which is peak daytime.
If you really need to go outside, make sure you're covered fully with clothes and have a cap or a hat on your head and try to keep yourself in shades as much as possible. Remember that this however won't help you in case the conditions are both hot and humid too, as it can cause excessive sweating and lead to dehydration.
Sunburn, sunstroke or heat stroke are sever risks under the hot sun. While sunburn can cause severe skin damage, a heat stroke has the potential to turn deadly, causing vital organ damage and death.
Try to keep yourself in the shades and avoid being under direct sunlight during the afternoon or at times when the sunshine is strong.
🚫 Avoid exhausting outdoor activities 🚫
Indulging in physically exhausting activities outside, under the hot sun, will only cause you to sweat more and loose more water and bodily fluids, and may leave you dehydrated and make you more tired and leave you weakened.
Not only you'll be risking sun strokes or heat strokes, severe dehydration itself may cause you to faint or lose balance.
So, it's better if you don't indulge in physically exerting activities outside in severe hot and humid weathers or during a heatwave. If you were planning for a hike, then better forget about it!
👶 Take extra care of children, elderly, and pets 🐶
If you have children, old or elderly people, or pets with you, then you'll need to take extra care, as they'd be more susceptible to harsh weather conditions such as heat waves.
Ensure that they don't venture out under the hot sun during peak day times. Also ensure that they don't remain seated inside a closed car or vehicle without cooling AC for a long time when it is very hot outside.
🥵🌡️ Check local weather alerts and advisories regularly. 🌞🔥
Check the weather forecasts and temperatures of your desired destination during the time you plan to visit them.
If you're already there, it is wise to regularly check weather updates and alerts for your place, both current weather conditions as well as forecasts.
Also See: 5 best practices for Summer Travel