Heat waves: Consequences for population and mitigation of their effects

According to the report published by CRED (Centre form resarch on the epidemiology of disasters), in their issue 70, extreme heat phenomena represented 3.7% of the emergencies worldwide during 2022.

However, 3,7% of these extreme heat events caused the 63.5% of the deaths due to hygrometric disasters in Europe.

According to the “Climate-Resilient European” the forecast of extreme temperatures in the future, far from yielding, will be increasingly intense and of longer duration:

Since Spain will be one of the most affected regions, the Spanish Government has launched a decalogue of recommendations for the general population. These guidelines are interesting not only for the Spanish population, but also for anyone who lives in an area susceptible to experiencing a heat wave:

• Drink water or liquids often, even if you don’t feel thirsty
• Avoid drinks that contain caffeine, alcohol or sugar
• Pay special attention to babies, children, pregnant women, infants, and elderly people with diseases that could be aggravated by heat (heart, kidney, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, cancer, dementia, etc.)
• Stay in cool places, spots in the shade or places with air conditioning
• Reduce physical activity and avoid participating in outdoor sports in the central hours of the day
• Wear light, loose, breathable clothing
• Never leave anyone in a parked and closed vehicle
• Consult a doctor if symptoms that may be related to heat are observed for more than an hour
• Eat light (fruits, vegetables) and reduce high-fat foods

Another measure developed by the Spanish government is to classify the different levels of risk and report them in real time through communication systems and the state meteorology agency: level 0 (green) or no risk, level 1 (yellow) low risk, level 2 (orange) medium risk, level 3 (red) high risk.

Furthermore, in the case of workers that carry out outdoor activities, Spain passed a law in the BOE of May 13, 2023, that modifies the health and safety regulations in the workplace to establish the prohibition of developing certain tasks if the risk level for high temperatures is orange or red and it is not possible to guarantee the protection of workers. The law stablishes that employers are obliged to adapt the conditions and hours of their employees and, if necessary, stop the activity during hours of excessive heat. The measure affects workers who carry out their work in places that cannot be closed, such as the street and agricultural or livestock farms.

These measures are some of the many that can be carried out to try to mitigate the effects of heat waves on the population and that is why projects like COVALEX, which study the impact of these phenomena and create a network of experts and good practices are of great relevance in these times.