As the Temperature Soars, Here’s How You Can Beat the Heat

The national capital continued to reel under severe heatwave conditions, with the maximum temperature touching the 42-degree Celsius mark, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

With temperatures likely to sore past 45° Celsius across India quite soon, it’s time to protect ourselves better. SPF 50 sunblock and a hat will just not cut it.

When is your body experiencing heat wave?

If your core body temperature rises above 42° Celsius, you’ve got a heatstroke! And we’re not trying to scare you, but a perfectly healthy person can die of a heatstroke.

What happens to your body when you experience heatwave?

We sweat to keep our body from over heating. But when we do sweat, our body loses heat and as we sweat, our body water levels drop. When the water levels drop to ‘danger’ levels, the body’s anti-diuretic hormones kick in to conserve fluid.

Therefore, the water you lose from your body needs to be refilled.

What happens if I do not re-hydrate?

Then, you get a heat stroke.

How do you know you are getting a heat stroke?

• First, comes heat exhaustion, along with sweating profusely. You may have nausea or fainting. Do not ignore this.

• Hunt for water, increases body’s metabolism – putting pressure on your heart and your blood and oxygen levels drop, causing brain damage or even death.

So beat the summer and don’t let it be the other way round. Stay hydrated – pani piyo aur jiyo!

Camera: Athar Rather
Video Editor: Kunal Mehra
Video Producer: Tridip Mandal

(This story was first published in April 2017.)