Heat can be a serious risk to our health and wellbeing, so everyone needs to carefully manage their daily activity during an extreme weather event.
Five tips to survive the heat
Keep hydrated! Always take a bottle with you. Drink extra water, even if you're not thirsty.
Please note: if your doctor normally limits your fluids, check how much to drink during hot weather.
Avoid alcohol, tea, coffee and sugary or fizzy drinks as they make dehydration worse.
Never leave kids, adults or pets in hot cars. The temperature inside a parked car can double within minutes.
You can keep yourself cool by using damp towels on the back of your neck, splashing cool water on your face and taking cool showers in the day and night. Keep your house cool by drawing curtains or external blinds to block the sun.
Stay out of the sun completely if possible and seek out air-conditioned buildings to spend your time in on hot days (for example, shopping centres, libraries or cinemas). If you must go out, wear sun protection and take water with you.
Ensure that meat, seafood, and dairy products are always stored below 5 degrees Celsius.
Schedule activities such as sport, gardening and exercise while it's cooler, avoid exercise, but if you must go out, wear sun protection and take water with you.
Look after those most at risk: the elderly and those with medical conditions. Check in on them everyday.
Ensure your pets or companion animals are also well hydrated and have plenty of shade when they're outside.
Remember these 5 tips to #SurviveTheHeat and visit the Better Health Channel for more information.
At risk individuals during heatwaves
Anyone can suffer from heat-related illness such as cramps, heat exhaustion and heatstroke. But some people are more at risk:
- seniors over 65 years, especially those living alone without air-conditioning
- infants
- the overweight or obese
- pregnant and nursing mothers
- people with a chronic illness, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and kidney disease
- people with health conditions that impede sweating, such as scleroderma, cystic fibrosis and extensive scarring from burns
- people with limited or poor mobility and
- people taking medications that may interfere with the body's ability to regulate temperature.
Visit The Department of Health & Human Services website for more resources.
For more information or if you require this information in another language, please visit the Health Translations website.
If you're feeling affected by the heat or you believe someone you know may be affected by the heat call Nurse-on-call on 1300 60 60 24. For life threatening emergencies call 000.
Power outages due to heat
Visit our power outages page for more infomation.
Power outages can occur during periods of extreme heat. Be prepared by having the following items to hand:
- torch
- extra batteries
- bottled water
- first aid kit
- contact details of your electricity provider
See VicEmergency's guide to power outages for more information.
Bushfire safety
Visit our bushfires page for more information.
There are a number of resources available from the Victorian Government to help you look after yourself in a fire event or in a fire-affected area. These are available in multiple languages and address issues such as:
- stress
- trauma
- smoke and
- other issues.