Between the long, dark winters and more than 15 months of pandemic restrictions, it’s hard not to let the hair down (for those of us who still have enough hair to let down) during these sunny, hot summer days.
Sadly, weather above 30 C is even more dangerous than when it’s 30-below. When it’s 30-below or colder, the chill slams into you. Your skin immediately tightens up, your lungs sense the freezing air coming in and your brain is on instant high alert. Exposure to that kind of cold can have serious health consequences in just minutes and deadly outcomes soon after that.
It’s the same for 30-above or more, except it takes longer, the body adapts quickly early on and the brain does not broadcast a heightened sense of danger.
People don’t know until they’ve already had too much sun that they’re sunburned. They don’t know until they’re physically ill that they have heat stroke.
And it gets worse if immediate action to get out of the sun and the heat isn’t taken.
A sizzling brain and heart both get stupid. The body is so desperate to cool off that it stops sweating, making things worse. The brain gets slow, fuzzy and starts seeing things that aren’t there.
If you get to that point, you don’t need to get inside your house, you need to see the inside of the hospital’s emergency ward as fast as possible.
Physical exertion makes it all worse and brings heat exhaustion and injury that much quicker, in stark contrast to extreme cold, where intense activity provides short-term relief.
Age is also a factor. If you’re a senior complaining that the heat (and the cold) just hit you harder and quicker than they used to, you’re right. The body finds it more and more difficult to cope with exposure as the years go by.
Young people are at even higher risk because their not fully developed internal systems combine with lack of experience and their immature brains. To them, the sun and the heat are much like drugs or alcohol - a seductive, enjoyable experience at first but they won’t know they’ve had too much until they are dangerously sick.
That’s why this weather we’re about to have must be recognized for the hazard it poses. Before this heat dome, as the weather people are calling it, finally collapses, it will be a small miracle if no one has died. And when it does finally fail, the cold system it yields to may bring lightning and winds to forests baked to a crisp.
Cold or hot, the weather doesn’t care how tough you think you are. It will lay you low all the same and if it doesn’t get you this time, tomorrow’s a new day.
Whether it’s 30-above or 30-below, reducing time outdoors to a minimum is the safest choice. In the days ahead, if you must be outside for an extended period in the heat, relax on a chair in the shade while drinking plenty of water (avoid both coffee and alcohol).
Now is not the time to install a new roof or build a fence or patio.
Relax.
Take it easy.
Enjoy the long summer days but don’t indulge in them too much for too long.
This is Prince George, after all.
The clouds, the wind and the cooler days will be back real soon.
