7 Ways To Prepare For Extreme Heat, As Dry Season Approaches

It is evident that the weather is already
changing. A close look at the weather conditions
confirms that the heavy and incessant rains that
characterized much of late September to early
November are already handing over to long
hours of intense sun with temperatures as high
as 35°C sometimes.
The dry season is characterized by a hot, dry
and dust-laden wind from the Sahara Desert. It
usually starts around November and lasts till
February the following year.
Harmattan season is known for its hot dusty air,
low humidity, dry/broken/peeled skin that is
generally uncomfortable for many, broken lips,
eye irritations and catarrh. It also gets very cold,
especially at night and early mornings. The
atmosphere gets very foggy during this period
with low visibility.
Early this week, LASEPA (Lagos State
Environmental Protection Agency) warned
Lagosians to prepare for extreme heat as
Harmattan kicks in.
In the statement General Manager of LASEPA,
Adedolapo Fasawe, urged residents to ensure
adequate ventilation at homes and offices in
order to mitigate the intensity of the prevailing
heatwave. Fasawe also advised Lagosians to
adequately prepare for the heat intensity
associated with the dry season, which had
manifested globally as heatwaves with serious
public health implications. She said that Lagos,
being a highly urbanized city, had a higher risk
of increased warming due to the heat.
She stated, “High rate of fire and flooding
incidents are some of the effects of heatwaves,
and this underscores the need to desist from
burning refuse, being a contributory factor to a
high rate of heatwaves.
How do you prepare for your safety as extreme
heat and harmattan kick in? HotSpots Team has
compiled these tips from thought leaders and
experts for your safety.
7 WAYS TO SURVIVE DRY SEASON HARMATTAN
AND HEAT
WEAR LIGHT-WEIGHT, LIGHT COLOURED AND
LOOSE-FITTING CLOTHING – Though Harmatan
comes with cold, but remember that the cold
times are limited to the night and very early in
the morning. This will quickly give way to
intensely hot and long sunny hours during the
day. With light-weight and loose-fitting clothing,
you can still be comfortable and not suffer from
exhaustion and profuse sweating. Also wear
light-coloured clothing that reflects light away
and avoid dark coloured clothing that traps heat
and make you sweat profusely. Don’t forget to
keep handkerchief, face towels handy too.
PREPARE YOUR CARS, OFFICES AND HOME –
This is the time to repair faulty car air condition
systems. You don’t want to be caught in a
stand-still traffic in the hot sun without a
functioning AC. Ensure your offices and homes
are well ventilated. A small investment in
rechargeable fans gives you better returns in
cool night rests and refreshed body in the
morning. This will save you from the expected
power outages at nights.
ALWAYS GO ABOUT WITH MOISTURISERS –
Always go about with moisturisers to prevent
dry
and white skins, lip gloss to prevent cracked
lips, Vaseline etc.
STAY WELL HYDRATED – Stay well hydrated,
drink lots of water and avoid carbonated soft
drinks and alcoholic drinks as these will quicken
your dehydration especially during the hot
sunny hours of the day. Always go around with
bottle water if you commute a lot. This will help
to keep your body metabolism on regardless of
the weather.
KEEP YOUR ENVIRONMENT TIDY AND HYGIENIC
– Hot and dry seasons is also characterized by
increased rodents and reptiles’ activities (e.g.
snake bites), insects (e.g. mosquitoes) and bees
bites. Ensure your environment is NOT
conducive for these creatures by clearing bushes
around your homes/offices, ensure no stagnant
water, clear blocked drains, and gutters, repair
bad mosquito nets (or install new ones) and
fumigate. These simple preventive measures
will save you huge costs in treating the fall-outs
of rodents, reptiles and insects attacks.
GET YOUR NOSE MASKS READY – The roads are
dry and the dusts emanating from numerous
untarred roads will soon become the trademark
of most Nigerian roads. This will ultimately lead
to several respiratory ailments and disorders like
catarrh and cough. Ensure you have handy
you’re nose masks wherever you go this
season.

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