The dos and don’ts of staying cool

Britain isn’t a country geared up to deal with extreme heat. We lack cool spaces to retreat to; our homes and gardens are often better suited to rainy winters than the hot, balmy summers we associate with the med. But with an extreme heat weather warning issued by the Met Office and with large parts of England and Wales being affected in the coming days, it’s wise to take precautions.

People vulnerable to extreme heat are likely to experience ‘adverse health effects’, while the rest of the population could suffer heat exhaustion and other heat-related illnesses that are not usually visited on these shores.

These conditions – unsurprisingly – often arise in connection with physical activity in hot weather and loss of fluid as a result of sweating. Problems occur when not enough fluid is drunk to compensate for this, with the body then dehydrating due to water and salt loss.