Earth Today | Dangerous heat - Public urged to adopt climate-smart ways to get cool

TRYING TO stay cool without the use of air conditioning is among the recommendations from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to cope with the sweltering heat – a clear call to action to safeguard public health while also giving priority to climate change considerations.
“Air conditioners can save lives during extreme heat but widespread reliance on inefficient cooling can increase energy demand and contribute to climate change. Where possible, combine efficient cooling with passive measures that keep buildings naturally cooler,” notes a June 22 story from the UNEP titled ‘Nine ways to stay cool during a heatwave’.
“Fans use far less energy than air conditioners and help people feel cooler by increasing airflow across the skin. Traditional cooling techniques can help even more. In parts of South Asia, dampened khus (vetiver grass) screens have long been placed over windows so that incoming air is cooled naturally as water evaporates. Shade, cross-ventilation, shutters, cool roofs and well-designed buildings can also keep heat out, reducing the need for air conditioning,” it added.
The changing climate – evidenced by the warming of the planet because of human consumption of fossil fuels, such as oil and gas, that produce greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, is one of the overlapping and interconnected environmental emergencies facing the world – along with nature loss and pollution.
Climate change has a range of impacts, notably the warming of the planet, but also the related extreme hurricane and other weather events; sea level rise and coastal erosion; together with compromised public health and impaired freshwater and food security.
With the warming of the planet the primary driver of the climate crisis, countries worldwide have been called upon, through agreements such as the historic Paris Agreement, to work together to get ahead of catastrophic climate change, with prioritised and well-resourced actions to reduce emissions.
As temperatures soar this summer, people are encouraged, too, to prepare homes for high temperatures by checking weather forecasts and heat alerts for when “dangerous conditions” are expected; making sure that “fans, refrigerators and other cooling equipment are working properly”; and that households are stocked up on drinking water and essential medicines.
Information out of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is that June 2026 was the hottest June for Western Europe, and the second warmest globally. 
Further, with the extreme heat anticipated to persist, the WMO said that, along with its members and partners, it would be “mobilising with early warnings and coordinated heat-health action plans to try to save lives and inform decision-making on how to minimise economic and ecosystem damage, and disruption to infrastructure and labour productivity”.
Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness has urged members of the public to stay out of the heat.
“Excessive heat stress is harmful to health and is potentially fatal. Some persons are at greater risk of being affected by heat. Among the most vulnerable are the elderly, bedridden persons, as well as infants and children younger than six years of age, persons who are overweight and those with preexisting medical conditions, including diabetes and hypertension,” the ministry cautioned in a July 6 press release.
Its own recommendations for dealing with the heat include hydrating with cool water and limiting or avoiding sugar-sweetened drinks and beverages that contain alcohol. The ministry has also said that people should exercise indoors where possible; avoid the sun during the middle of the day; and wear lightweight, light-coloured, loose-fitting clothes made of breathable fabrics.
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