{"id":24360,"date":"2022-08-08T08:30:11","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T07:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/research-blog\/?p=24360"},"modified":"2023-02-15T14:06:12","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T14:06:12","slug":"four-things-cool-countries-can-learn-from-hot-ones-about-dealing-with-heatwaves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/research-blog\/2022\/08\/08\/four-things-cool-countries-can-learn-from-hot-ones-about-dealing-with-heatwaves\/","title":{"rendered":"Four things cool countries can learn from hot ones about dealing with heatwaves"},"content":{"rendered":"

With our planet\u00a0heating up<\/a>, we all need help coping with increasing temperatures in our day-to-day lives. The UK provisionally recorded its highest ever temperature,\u00a040.3\u2103<\/a>, on July 19 2022, and records are being broken across the world.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In 2021, I said that it was very likely that temperatures\u00a0<\/span>would reach 40\u2103<\/a>\u00a0in the UK within the next 10 years. It was clear then how\u00a0<\/span>unprepared<\/a>\u00a0many parts of the world were for these spiralling temperatures. But, there are lots of ways to try and adapt to extreme heat. Here are some suggestions that temperate countries can learn from hotter ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Midday break<\/h3>\n

The European siesta has its origins in Spain where field workers took a break to escape the heat of the day, but it also has links back to the\u00a0Romans in Italy<\/a>, who also took some time out in the afternoon. Although 60%\u00a0of Spaniards no longer<\/a>\u00a0take a siesta, taking a break in the middle of the day is practised\u00a0by many countries globally<\/a>. This avoids working in the hottest part of the day. Allowing time for a\u00a0short nap of 30 minutes<\/a>\u00a0could also benefit our health and wellbeing and give us energy for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n

2. Cool clothes<\/h3>\n

There are some accounts of European explorers encountering the dress of those\u00a0in more tropical regions<\/a>\u00a0and being surprised at the loose fitting nature of people\u2019s clothing.<\/p>\n

What we wear has a big influence<\/a>\u00a0on our ability to be able to cool down, and loose, light-coloured clothes help.\u00a0Clothing changes<\/a>\u00a0how sweat is lost from the body and how we gain or loose heat from factors like the wind and the sun.<\/p>\n

Examples that work well can be found around the world. The\u00a0thawb or tobe<\/a>\u00a0is a traditional item of clothing from the United Arab Emirates and other parts of the Middle East and North Africa. It is thought that the air flow around this garment\u00a0cools the wearer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other places with\u00a0cool traditional clothing<\/a>\u00a0include saris, and dhotis for men in India, and kente and oubou garments from\u00a0African nations in the Sahel<\/a>\u00a0region, including Ghana.<\/p>\n

3. Exercise<\/h3>\n

Exercise is important to keep us healthy. For those into running outside, learn from hotter countries, such as Australia,\u00a0where the recommendation<\/a>\u00a0is to run in the evening or morning, because they are the\u00a0coolest parts of the day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pregnant women<\/a>\u00a0are one group that are thought to be vulnerable to extreme heat, and at one point were recommended not to exercise in hot countries. But there\u2019s some evidence that\u00a0pregnant women can exercise <\/a>\u00a0for up to 45 minutes at a temperature of up to 32\u2103 with a humidity (the amount of moisture in the air) of 40% with low risk.<\/p>\n

4. Building design<\/h3>\n

Ventilation is a key part of\u00a0building design<\/a>\u00a0to promote cool air flow in hot weather. A good example is the Mactan Cebu international airport in the\u00a0Philippines<\/a>, with its high ceilings and low eaves. The open, undulated design gives maximum space for air to flow around the building and allows hot air to rise.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Gulf countries, traditional buildings<\/a>\u00a0often have small alleys around the outside so that the smallest area possible is exposed to the sun. In addition, large windows are very rarely found in traditional buildings in the Middle East to keep temperatures low, and let less sun in.<\/p>\n

Other elements can be used in building design. In some southern European countries, for instance, you see\u00a0shutters on the outside of windows<\/a>. Shutters\u00a0help to absorb sunlight<\/a>\u00a0cooling the inside. In cooler countries windows often open outwards, so shutters or blinds would have to be added inside buildings, until home design changes.<\/p>\n

Although these practices from hotter countries can be used by cooler countries to reduce the effect of heat, it is important to remember that\u00a0heatwaves<\/a>\u00a0(a period of three or more days in a region\u2019s warm season, or any when in the tropics) occur in hot regions too. Recent record temperatures in India and Pakistan resulted in\u00a0crops dying<\/a>\u00a0and increased\u00a0death rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, the world needs a\u00a0global early warning system for heatwaves<\/a>\u00a0and investment in infrastructure, as well as continuing to work towards tackling climate change.<\/p>\n

Chloe Brimicombe is a heatwave hazard Ph<\/span>D researcher at the University of Reading.<\/p>\n

This article is republished from\u00a0The Conversation<\/a>\u00a0under a Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With our planet\u00a0heating up, we all need help coping with increasing temperatures in our day-to-day lives. The UK provisionally recorded its highest ever temperature,\u00a040.3\u2103, on July 19 2022, and records…Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":693,"featured_media":26669,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[187,189,323,404,432,941],"class_list":["post-24360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","tag-climate","tag-climate-change","tag-environment-2","tag-global-warming","tag-heatwave","tag-weather"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFour things cool countries can learn from hot ones about dealing with heatwaves - Connecting Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/research-blog\/2022\/08\/08\/four-things-cool-countries-can-learn-from-hot-ones-about-dealing-with-heatwaves\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Four things cool countries can learn from hot ones about dealing with heatwaves - Connecting Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With our planet\u00a0heating up, we all need help coping with increasing temperatures in our day-to-day lives. 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