The sun’s peak hours are generally 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (The Times this week compiled a list of exhibitions at museums in New York to visit when summer weather turns sultry. The article’s headline begins “The Art of Staying Cool.”)
“There are times you are going to be in the sun, but if you can avoid as much direct sunlight as possible, it is better,” Mr. Schichtel said.
Wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing, and take cool showers or baths.“If you can pour water on exposed skin, that is going to allow your body to cool down,” Mr. Schichtel said. If you can, put cool water or compresses on the back of your neck or wrists.
Wearing a hat protects you from direct sun; sunburns affect your body’s ability to cool down and can make you dehydrated, according to the C.D.C. And fans will go only so far; air coolers are better.
Don’t leave children or pets in a car, which can swelter in the sun.The sun’s radiation heats objects that it strikes, such as a dark dashboard or seat, warming the air trapped inside a vehicle. In about two minutes a car can go from a safe temperature to an unsafe 94.3 degrees, according to General Motors and San Francisco State University, and even reach temperatures of 180 degrees to over 200 degrees.
Learn the signs of heat stroke and heat exhaustion.The C.D.C. lists some of them as dizziness, a rapid pulse, nausea, headache and fainting. But symptoms can vary. Those suffering from heat stroke might have a rapid but strong pulse, while those with heat exhaustion might have a rapid but weak one.
Immediate remedies include moving the person to a cooler place and applying wet, cool cloths.
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Mortality increases as the heat index — a combination of the air temperature and humidity that expresses how hot it feels — rises and stays above 104 degrees for two hours or more, according to the National Weather Service. So people need to adapt their behavior and take the heat seriously, the way they do in Carefree, Ariz., a town with a population of about 3,300 people north of Phoenix where temperatures can rise to 112 degrees and above.
