\n<\/p>\n
The US is in a record-breaking heatwave, with tens of millions people on alert. A persistent heat dome is blanketing much of the midwest and spanning through the north-east. The phenomenon traps hot air and humidity, and exacerbates the \u201cfeels like\u201d temperature to much higher than it actually is.<\/p>\n
Health experts and climate scientists described the effects of extreme heat on the human body, which populations are most at risk and ways to mitigate it.<\/p>\n
It occurs when the body experiences a buildup of heat, at a level that is more than what it can release. \u201cThe human body has this fantastic ability to cool through sweat evaporation,\u201d said Uwe Reischl, professor in the school of public and population health at Boise State University. But even when the body is producing sweat, the evaporation can be limited due to humidity in the air.<\/p>\n
Another factor that causes body temperature to increase is when a person wears clothing that prevents sweat from being released from skin. And when the body doesn\u2019t have enough water, it becomes dehydrated to the point that it isn\u2019t able to produce sweat any more.<\/p>\n
Warm air is able to hold more moisture than cold air. \u201cSo the warmer the heat dome, the higher humidity levels,\u201d said Reischl. Urban environments with lots of buildings, paved roadways and parking lots exacerbate the likelihood of heat stress, as they absorb heat from the sun (and release it) throughout the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeat stress is a spectrum,\u201d said Kristie Ebi, professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Washington. Symptoms can range from small, reddish blisters on one\u2019s hands to fainting. In extreme cases, if the body temperature rises above 103F (39C), it can result in a heatstroke, which can cause the brain and other internal organs to swell, and can be fatal.<\/p>\n
Children, the elderly and pregnant people are among the most vulnerable to heat stress. \u201cAthletes and outdoor workers can be at much higher risk for heat stress,\u201d Ebi said, as the more people move or work, the more heat their bodies have to get rid of. These circumstances are more fraught for people like farm workers, who need to be protected against physical or chemical hazards, such as pesticides. They must wear protective clothing, which can interfere with their bodies\u2019 ability to evaporate sweat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we are exposed to high temperatures, we need time for our bodies to cool down, and night-time is normally when that happens,\u201d Ebi said. (But since 1970, overnight summer temperatures have increased by 3F on average, meaning that people are getting less reprieve at night.)<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition to resting, the body needs to rehydrate,\u201d Reischl said, adding that people should drink more water than they normally would.<\/p>\n
Avoid strenuous outdoor activities, drink fluids, stay away from the sun and spend more time in air-conditioned places like cooling centers.<\/p>\n
Putting your feet in cold water, placing cool towels around your neck, sitting in front of an electric fan and sprinkling water on yourself are effective ways to cool down. As are pulling down shades at home during the day and opening windows at night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US is in a record-breaking heatwave, with tens of millions people on alert. A persistent heat dome is blanketing much of the midwest and spanning through the north-east. The phenomenon traps hot air and humidity, and exacerbates the \u201cfeels like\u201d temperature to much higher than it actually is. Health experts and climate scientists described<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[1867,1868,587,37,104],"class_list":{"0":"post-9530","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-affect","9":"tag-body","10":"tag-extreme","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-heat"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}