Excess heat

View up to date information on the forecast from the Met office

Keep up to date on the latest hot weather response and information on council services at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council X page or Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Facebook page.

The Heatwave Plan for England

A Heat-Health watch system operates nationally in England from 1 June to 15 September each year. The system comprises four main levels.

Level 1: Summer preparedness and long-term planning
Year-round work to reduce the impact of climate change and ensure maximum adaptations to reduce harm from heatwaves. Such as, making housing, workplaces, transport systems and the built environment cool and energy efficient.

Level 2: Alert and readiness (60% chance of temperatures being high enough on at least two consecutive days to have significant effects on health)
This is an important stage, as many deaths occur in the first two days of temperatures rising.

Level 3: Heatwave action
Heatwave threshold temperature (31^°C during the day and 16^°C overnight) reached. This requires specific actions targeted at high-risk groups.

Level 4: Emergency
Reached when a heatwave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside health and social care (for example, water shortages). At this level, death may occur among the fit and healthy and a multi-sector response is required.

Risk factors with heat

Certain factors increase an individuals' risk during a heatwave, these include:

Older age
Particularly women over 75 years old, or those living on their own, or in a care home.

Chronic and severe illness
Heart conditions, diabetes, respiratory or kidney problems, Parkinson's, severe mental illness and those on certain medications.

Inability to adapt behaviour to keep cool
Having Alzheimer's, a disability, being bedbound; too much alcohol, babies and the very young.

Environmental factors and over exposure
Living in urban areas, south facing top floor flats, homeless, carrying out activities and jobs in outdoors with high levels of physical exertion.

Typical symptoms of heat stress

Are:

• an inability to concentrate
• muscle cramps
• heat rash
• severe thirst - a late symptom of heat stress
• fainting
• heat exhaustion - fatigue, giddiness, nausea, headache, moist skin
• heat stroke - hot dry skin, confusion, convulsions and eventual loss of consciousness. This is the most severe disorder and can result in death if not detected at an early stage.

Tips for coping in hot weather

Keep out of the heat and direct sunshine if you can. If you have to go outside, stay in the shade especially between 11am and 3pm, wear sunscreen (SPF 30 or above), a hat and light clothes, and avoid exercise or activity that makes you hotter.

Cool yourself down:

• Have cold food and drinks. Drink plenty of water to keep hydrated.
• Have a cool shower or put cool water on your skin or clothes. Put a cold, damp flannel on your forehead.
• Avoid alcohol, caffeine and hot drinks.
• Keep living and sleeping spaces cool:
• Close curtains and blinds to stop direct sunlight heating rooms. Close windows during the day and open them at night when the temperature outside has gone down. Electric fans can help if the temperature is below 35 degrees. Check the temperature of rooms, especially where people at higher risk live and sleep.
• Ground floor rooms can be cooler than upstairs.

For more information visit GOV.UK: Beat the heat: staying safe in hot weather.