The heatwaves are too hot and people can have problems because of this high temperatures - IStock

By: Maria Eduarda Macieira (Grade 3)

Do you know what a heatwave is? It happens when the temperature is above average for a period of more than five days. Specialists think that 2023 will be the hottest year in 125 thousand years. But, for us to understand what is happening to our planet this year, we need to know the meaning of some terms.

The hot waves are normal every year, in the transition of spring to summer. But we are living in a time in which the hot weather is driven by global warming, and that’s why 2023 had many heatwaves and beated so many historical temperature records. It happened because we had a hotter atmosphere + the greenhouse gases with the El Ñino.

El Ñino has been commented on lately because of all the concern about the climate issues. But do you know what this cyclical event is? Well, the El Ñino can cause big climate changes, like heatwaves, droughts or floods, depending on the place and region. It’s a change in the distribution of temperature in the Pacific Ocean, heating it up. Human actions can make these changes more severe.

Brazil had 8 heatwaves in 2023. We had 4 consecutive hot months too: August, September, October and November, with high temperatures. Over the years, the average number of hot days each year are growing. From 1961 to 1990, the average of atypical hot days was 7, and from 2011 to 2020 there were 52.

And how this very hot weather is affecting our bodies? Normally, we pass this hot feeling through sweat. But when we have a very high temperature in the atmosphere, our bodies can have some problems like overheating, heatstroke and possible damage to organs. If you don’t drink enough water, for example, you can get dizzy or have a fainting sensation. The risks are bigger for old people, people with comorbidity and children.

But how can we avoid these problems during this type of weather? Specialists gave some tips for people to protect themselves from the heatwaves, and some of them are: stay in fresh indoor places, avoid leaving your home during the hottest time of the day, take cold showers to lighten the heat, wear light and loose clothing, and drink a lot of water.

According to an article published by G1, to make your house fresher, some good tips are: avoid using the oven, use fens and leave the windows open at night if possible. Oh! And another tip: if you have a pet, don’t take it for a walk at the hottest times of the day.

If you are having problems with the heat and feeling ill, there are some things you can do too: ask someone for help, in very serious cases, call a doctor or go to the hospital immediately, drink a lot of water or juice.

By taking care of the environment and living in a sustainable way, we can avoid this climate and environmental problems. Like that, we can live normally and happily, always caring about our planet.

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