With excessive heat: Cebuanos told to stay at home, drink water

A long queue of shoppers is seen outside a grocery store in Cebu City while enhanced community quarantine remains in effect here. | Gerard Francisco

CEBU CITY, Philippines- Stay at home and stay hydrated.

Jomar Eclarino of Pagasa Mactan said that staying indoors is the best protection against the excessive heat that is now experienced in Metro Cebu and other parts of Cebu province.

Eclarino said that if there is a need to go out of the house to do some errands, Cebunaos should never forget to wear protection like caps or bring umbrellas that would minimize direct exposure to the heat of the sun.

He said that staying hydrated by drinking water on a regular basis will also help replenish lost body fluids.

Other remedies against the excessive heat include the need to wear light-colored clothes.  Drinking coffee, tea, and soft drinks and doing physical activities in the afternoon is also discouraged.

Read: Cebuanos told: Prepare for hotter days ahead

In an advisory, Pagasa said that heat index ranging from 27 to 32 degrees Celsius causes fatigue. Prolonged exposure to the heat of the sun can result in heat cramps.

Heat index ranging from 32 to 54 degrees Celsius causes heat cramps and heat exhaustion and could lead to a possible heat stroke.

Heat cramps are painful and brief muscle cramps that normally occur while exercising in a hot environment while heat exhaustion is normally characterized by a feeling of weakness, nausea, dizziness, and the presence of profuse sweating as a result of physical exertion while in a hot environment.

On the other hand, heat stroke happens when the body overheats from prolonged exposure to or physical exertion in high temperatures.

Pagasa said that a heat index of over 54 degrees Celsius is very dangerous and causes heat stroke. / dcb