Here are a few tips for surviving a heatwave. Drink lots of water. Put some plastic bottles of water in the freezer and use them as cold water bottles (wrap something around them) at night, and place one in front of your fan to cool the air. Keep curtains/blinds shut in the heat of the day and consider putting a sheet over the outside of the windows.
Check on elderly relatives/neighbours and help them to keep cool. If your house gets too hot, think of somewhere you can go to keep cool-many public buildings have air conditioning. Consider insulating your house before the next heatwave, as this keeps it cool when it is hot as well as warm in winter.
If you are a tenant, let your landlord know if your house gets too hot. If you are a landlord, make sure your properties are safe in a heatwave. You don’t want the death of a tenant on your conscience.
If you are involved in education, ensure your school uniform policy is fit for purpose. Don’t make your pupils suffer.
If you have young street trees on your road, please water them.
Write to your MP to demand the introduction of a maximum temperature at work. Working in prolonged heat and sun can be dangerous. It can cause dehydration, dizziness and cancer. The Health and Safety Executive say 4,500 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every year as a result of outdoor working. If you are in a Union, think Heatstrike.
Climate change is getting worse year on year. Only vote for politicians who take this seriously. We need massive investment to solve our addiction to fossil fuels and adapt to both a hotter and a colder future. As temperatures rise, eventually the currents that keep our climate warm could shut down, making UK winters like an ice age.
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