If you are the type that reads a lot or listen to the news, you will know that 2019 is “on course to be in the top three warmest years on record” (i.e likely the warmest years). undp.org citing Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) earlier in October said “this year will be another hot year”. It says 2018 was hotter than the preceding year; and this is clearly being felt in 2019. This is sort of becoming a trend; “unless we take action, these trends are likely to jeopardize hard-won progress”
Heat wave is a period of time of abnormally hot weather like the one currently experienced across Nigeria. Continuous exposure to such heat condition could result in heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and even death. A recent international study cited in nationalgeographic.com also revealed that “many more people will be exposed to extreme weather events over the next century than previously thought—“a potentially catastrophic risk to human health” that could undo 50 years of global health gains.
However, climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity today is no longer in doubt. Research has also revealed that the “same emissions that cause global warming are also largely responsible for polluting the air we breathe, causing heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and infections, and affecting every organ in the human body” (telegraph.co.uk). It has also been reported that in this kind of condition, “children, the elderly, pregnant women and adults with weakened immune systems are the most at risk.”
This is not to get you panicking but it is important to know that the climate crisis is also a health crisis and you should take cautions in whatever that will affect your health and that of your family. Solutions are said to be in the works. But in the meantime how do you keep staying healthy in order to withstand this climate change?
For instance, the kind of Extreme Weather such heat that we are currently experiencing in Lagos or Nigeria right now may have impacts on the availability of safe food and drinking water, increasing stomach and intestinal illness, particularly following power outages
4 Way To Stay Healthy During Heat Wave
1. Avoid contaminated food: Climate change will have a variety of impacts that may increase the risk of exposure to chemical contaminants in food. For example, seafood such as fish, snail etcCheck the kind of food you eat
2. Stay hydrated by drinking a lot of water. Don’t just drink any kind of water without looking at it very well. Have a shower when there is outage in power to enable you sleep well especially at night. Some people cannot withstand heat; their stomach will begin to rumble etc
3. Have your windows netted to avoid mosquitoes and other flying insect to avoid Vectorborne diseases. These are illnesses that are transmitted by disease vectors, which include mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas
4. Avoid smoke as much as you can. Smoke contributing to carbon monoxide poisoning from improper use of portable electric generators etc can be more dangerous this season as well as at all times.
Extreme heat events do not get as much attention as other disasters possibly because everyone tends to forget about them after everything cools down to normal. However, the world is in a race to limit climate change. Public health experts across the globe are reportedly calling for new measures to help people stay healthy.
