Keeping Cool During a Summer Heat Wave

Sum­mer is final­ly here and it looks to stay. With tem­per­a­tures ris­ing and hit­ting the 40 degree mark in the city, we are in for a very hot sum­mer. With tem­per­a­tures like these it’s impor­tant to keep cool to pre­vent over expo­sure to the sun or a heat stroke. Dur­ing heat waves like these, there are many ways to keep cool and beat the sum­mer heat.  Don’t know how? Here’s some ways you can keep cool dur­ing a sum­mer heat wave.

Uti­lize Cool­ing Sta­tions:

If you don’t have air con­di­tion­ing at your house, try to spend some time of your day at cool­er places, such as malls, libraries, the­atres, etc. Toron­to also has mul­ti­ple cool­ing sta­tions open as well as many city pools, with some stay­ing open late dur­ing heat waves.

Stay Hydrat­ed:

Best way to beat the heat is to stay hydrat­ed. Drink lots and lots of water through­out the day to keep your body hydrat­ed. Avoid caf­feinat­ed drinks and alco­hol. They act as diuret­ics and make you uri­nate more fre­quent­ly.

Keep Stren­u­ous Work to a Min­i­mum:

Dur­ing a heat wave, keep work light and sim­ple. Try not to do any stren­u­ous work, such as cut­ting the grass, in the direct heat. These types of activ­i­ties in the heat will take more time and leave you extreme­ly exhaust­ed, putting you at risk of a heat stroke. If you need to do any of these activ­i­ties, try doing them in the ear­ly morn­ing or in the evening when it’s much cool­er.

Keep Cov­ered:

Wear light colours when going out. Dark colours attract heat and will make you feel even hot­ter in the sun. Wear­ing cot­ton fab­rics will also help you feel cool­er.

Get Wet:

Out­side or inside, this is one of the quick­est ways to keep cool. Place a cold tow­el on your face or around your neck to cool your body down. You can also take cold show­ers through­out the day or spray your face with a light cold mist.

Stay Indoors:

If you don’t need to be out­side, then stay indoors. This is the best way to avoid the sun’s rays and beat the heat. Yes, you may be bored in the house and tempt­ed to go out to enjoy the nice weath­er, but it’s bet­ter than get­ting sun­burned or dehy­drat­ed.

It’s also impor­tant to remem­ber that dur­ing a heat wave, young chil­dren, the elder­ly and pets also have to be looked at with great care as they are most vul­ner­a­ble to the heat and humid­i­ty. Make sure to check up on elder­ly neigh­bours or rel­a­tives and keep chil­dren and pets out of the direct sun­light.