Heatwave Safety Guide
Recognising heat exhaustion and heat stroke, keeping cool, and protecting vulnerable people during extreme heat.
Compiled from official emergency-management guidance (FEMA/Ready.gov, IFRC, WHO, national agencies) · Reviewed by the WND Editorial Team · Last reviewed:
Key action: Stay hydrated, stay in the coolest available space during peak hours (11:00–17:00), and check on older people living alone twice daily. Confusion, hot dry skin or collapse is heat stroke — call emergency services and cool the person immediately.
Before the event
- Know the local heat-warning system and forecast.
- Prepare a cool room: the coolest space in the home, with shading (external shutters best), fans, or AC if available.
- Stock drinking water and ORS; check that fridges and medicines storage cope with heat.
- Identify neighbours at risk — older people alone, chronic illness, outdoor workers — and plan check-ins.
- Learn where public cool spaces are (malls, libraries, cooling centres).
During the event
- Drink water regularly without waiting for thirst; avoid alcohol and excess caffeine.
- Avoid strenuous activity in peak heat; shift work/exercise to early morning.
- Keep the home cool: shade windows by day, ventilate at night when outside air cools.
- Wear loose, light-coloured clothing and a wide hat outside; use sunscreen.
- Cool the body: cool showers, damp cloths on neck/wrists, foot baths.
- NEVER leave children or animals in parked vehicles — even minutes can kill.
- Recognise heat exhaustion: heavy sweating, weakness, nausea, headache — move to cool, hydrate, rest.
- Heat stroke (confusion, hot dry or flushed skin, temperature ≥40°C, unconsciousness): call emergency services, cool aggressively with water and fanning while waiting.
After the event
- Continue hydration and rest for days after a long heatwave; strain on the body accumulates.
- Keep checking vulnerable neighbours — excess deaths continue after the peak.
- Restock water and review what worked for the next event.
Emergency kit checklist
- Extra drinking water (more than the standard 4 L/person/day)
- ORS sachets, spray bottle, cooling towels
- Battery fans, power bank (grids fail under heat load)
- Thermometer, wide-brim hats, sunscreen
Evacuation guidance
- Heat rarely needs evacuation, but relocate anyone in an un-coolable dwelling (top-floor tin-roof rooms) to a cooler location during extreme warnings.
What NOT to do
- Do NOT leave anyone — child, older adult or pet — in a parked car, ever.
- Do NOT direct a fan at yourself in extreme heat (>40°C) without also wetting the skin; it can add heat.
- Do NOT drink alcohol to "cool down".
- Do NOT exercise or work outdoors through the hottest hours during red warnings.
Children, older people and people with disabilities
- Older adults sense heat and thirst less — schedule proactive water and cooling, don't wait for complaints.
- Babies: never cover prams with dry cloth (traps heat); keep feeds frequent.
- Chronic illness/medication (diuretics, psychiatric, heart) raises risk — ask a clinician about heat precautions.
- Outdoor workers: water–rest–shade cycles, buddy system for heat-illness signs.
Pet safety
- Shade and fresh water always; walk dogs at dawn/dusk — hot asphalt burns paws.
- Never leave animals in vehicles or sun-exposed enclosures.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke?
Heat exhaustion involves heavy sweating, weakness and nausea — treated with cooling, rest and fluids. Heat stroke is a medical emergency: the body's cooling fails, core temperature exceeds ~40°C and confusion or unconsciousness appear. Call emergency services and cool the person immediately with water and fanning.
Why are heatwaves called silent killers?
Deaths occur indoors, dispersed across a city, mostly among isolated older people — the 2003 European heatwave caused an estimated ~70,000 excess deaths. Regular check-ins on vulnerable people are the single most effective community action.