Safety tips for dealing with extreme heat

It looks like it is going to be a hot summer. I spent the past two weeks in Japan and South Korea, and the humidity never dropped below 85%. I fly back home and get greeted by the same. So here are some ways to ease the pain of the heat.

Before

• Learn to recognize the signs of heat illness.
• Do not rely on a fan as your primary cooling device. Fans create air flow and a false sense of comfort, but do not reduce body temperature or prevent heat-related illnesses.
• Identify places in your community where you can go to get cool, such as libraries and shopping malls or contact your local health department to find cooling options in your area.
• Cover windows with drapes or shades.
• Weather-strip doors and windows.
• Use window reflectors specifically designed to reflect heat back outside.
• Add insulation to keep the heat out.
• Use a powered attic ventilator, or attic fan, to regulate the heat level of a buildings attic by clearing out hot air.
• Install window air conditioners and insulate around them.
• If you are unable to afford your cooling costs, weatherization or energy-related home repairs, contact the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program for help.

During

• Never leave people or pets in a closed vehicle on a warm day.
• If air conditioning is not available in your home, find a cooling option.
• Take cool showers or baths.
• Wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.
• Use your oven less to help reduce the temperature in your home.
• If youre outside, find shade. Wear a hat wide enough to protect your face.
• Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.
• Avoid high-energy activities or work outdoors, during midday heat, if possible.
• Check on family members, older adults and neighbors.
• Watch for heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
• Consider pet safety. If they are outside, make sure they have plenty of cool water and access to comfortable shade. Asphalt and dark pavement can be very hot to your pets feet.
• Heat waves may cause you to lose power.

The above information was retrieved from the www.ready.gov website.

As part of the extreme heat discussion, I wanted to reinforce this part.

A topic that I find disturbing is people who leave someone in a vehicle and go into a store to pick something up. I have read many articles where someone says, But I left the car air conditioning running for them, or I was only going to be in there for a minute.

Children, adults, and pets should NEVER be left in a car, no matter the time of year. I added adults because I have caught myself telling my wife that I will just wait in the car for you while you are shopping. An hour later, when she came out, I was soaking wet with sweat and came close to having heat exhaustion. The temps were in the 70s, but as the following information states, it can be dangerous.

Vehicular heatstroke has occurred when outside temperatures are below 70 degrees F sunlight can cause the inside of a car to heat up VERY quickly. Even if you leave the air conditioning on and the engine running what could happen if it shuts off suddenly? Or a child decides to play driving and shifts the vehicle into gear?

The atmosphere and the windows of a car are relatively transparent to the sun’s shortwave radiation and are warmed little. This shortwave energy, however, does heat objects it strikes. For example, a dark dashboard or seat can easily reach temperatures in the range of 180 to more than 200 degrees F.

These objects (e.g., dashboard, steering wheel, child seat) heat the adjacent air by conduction and convection and also give off longwave radiation, which is very efficient at warming the air trapped inside a vehicle.

Each year, dozens of children and pets die from being left in unattended vehicles across the country. Catherine McLaren published an article in Pediatrics in 2005 titled Heat Stress From Enclosed Vehicles: Moderate Ambient Temperatures Cause Significant Temperature Rise in Enclosed Vehicles. which showed evidence that at relatively cool outside temperatures, the temperature inside a vehicle can rise significantly, with the majority of the temperature rise occurring within the first 15 to 30 minutes. In addition, they found that leaving windows cracked does not significantly slow the heating process or decrease the maximum temperature measured inside the vehicle. To prevent serious heat-related illness or death, children should never be left unattended in a vehicle.

Stay cool this summer and keep an eye on the sky .

Bob the EM