Heatwaves and high temperatures: precautions to take

Get ready before summer

Bring equipment to cool your home: spare air conditioners or fans. Don't wait until summer, much less heatwave warnings, when the shops are overran.

Keep your home cool

• During heatwaves, keep windows and shutters closed.
• During the cooler hours (when the sun is set), ventilate by opening them and airing your home. Tips for cooling the air: hang damp sheets in front of open windows.
• Avoid turning on heat-sources as much as possible, such as ovens, lights or PCs.

Avoid dehydration and sunburn during the hottest hours of the day

• Wear suitable clothing: wide, flowing and light-coloured clothing. Unlike most common practices, it is best to cover your legs and arms to avoid sunburn.
• Stay cool at home or in an air-conditioned building. If you venture outside, keep to shady areas in the morning before 11am and in the evening after 9pm.
• Drink plenty of fluids before you start to feel thirsty as often as possible. Some beverages promote dehydration and are therefore to be avoided: sodas, alcoholic beverages, tea and coffee.
• Make your children drink often even if they don't ask. Check your infant's urine for possible dehydration: an infant must urinate several times a day and the urine should be odour-free.
• Be concerned about the health and hydration of the elderly around you.
• Favour ‘wet’ foods in your diet such as fruit and raw vegetables.
• Shower with lukewarm water without wiping. Cold water is not recommended: it will refresh you instantly but your body will then try to warm up, which will finally produce the opposite effect: you will get very hot a few minutes after the shower.