Sweltering heat in Brazil: see tips to alleviate temperatures

A suffocating heat wave hits the Southeast region this week, bringing high temperatures and firm weather, according to Climatempo.

It shouldn’t rain in Vitória, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, and most of Minas Gerais. In the Triângulo Mineiro, in the interior and in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, lots of sun and high temperatures, but with rain showers in the afternoon.

With that in mind, the CNN We’ve put together some tips to keep you cool on these days with higher temperatures. See below:

Stay hydrated

When you’re hot and flushed, hydrating is the first and most important step to staying cool, said Wendell Porter, professor emeritus of agricultural and biological engineering at the University of Florida.

The temperature of the water doesn’t matter as your body will heat it, he added. If your body is suffering from the heat and needs to cool down, it cannot do so without sufficient moisture, as the body cools itself through sweat.

Take a cold shower

Taking a cold shower helps cool the body, lowering your core temperature, Porter said.

For an extra kick, try peppermint soap. The menthol in peppermint oil activates brain receptors that tell the body that something you are eating or feeling is cold.

Use cool cloths on your neck or wrists

Place a cold cloth or ice packs on your wrists or place them around your neck to cool your body. These pulse points are areas where blood vessels are close to the skin, so you cool down more quickly.

Use fans

Place fans facing the windows of the rooms you are spending time in to blow out hot air and replace it with cool air indoors.

If the weather in your area tends to dip between 10 and 21 degrees in the morning and evening, opening the windows on both sides of the house during these times can facilitate a cross-flow ventilation system. If you do this, you can choose whether or not to use fans, but fans would help cool the house more quickly, Porter said.

Outdoor air can pull warm air from your home, leaving a cooler temperature or bringing in breezes. Just be sure to close the windows when the sun comes out and then open them when the weather is cold again.

Just resting near a fan would also reduce your body temperature.

Close the curtains or blinds

If you have windows that face the direction of the sun from morning to afternoon, draw curtains or blinds over them to “prevent the sun from coming directly into the house and heating up (the) interior,” Porter said.

You can also install blackout curtains to insulate the room and reduce temperature rises that would happen during the day.

If you turn on the air conditioning, don’t leave it below 70°F in an effort to cool the home faster, said Samantha Hall, managing director of Spaces Alive, an Australia-based design research firm that helps create healthy environments. and sustainable.

“It just runs longer to reach that temperature and will continue until you start to feel a little cold and it’s hard to balance,” she added. Instead, keep the unit’s temperature as high as possible while still being comfortable.

Sleep with breathable sheets

Cotton is one of the most breathable materials, so cotton sheets or blankets can help keep you cool at night.

The lower the thread count of cotton, the more breathable it is, Porter said. This is because higher thread counts have more weave per square meter.

Do not refrigerate or freeze blankets or clothing

Common advice for staying cool without air conditioning includes refrigerating or freezing wet socks, blankets, or clothes and then putting them away to use while you sleep. But this is not a good idea, Porter said.

Because of “the amount of energy they can absorb from their body that night, they will be warm in a matter of minutes,” he said. “And then you would have damp things that would create mold on your mattress. Then you definitely don’t want to do that.”

Close doors to unused rooms

If no one is using a room that has no vents or registers, close the door to that area to keep fresh air confined to only occupied areas of the home.

Use the extractor fan in your kitchen and/or bathroom

Flip the switch on the exhaust fan in your kitchen to pull in the hot air that rises after cooking or in the bathroom to extract steam after a shower.

Install energy-saving light bulbs

Incandescent bulbs generate a higher temperature than LED bulbs. To make the switch, watch sales of energy-efficient light bulbs and then slowly replace the bulbs in your home, Porter said.

Changing light bulbs can save money, but it doesn’t reduce heat in the home much, Hall said. However, if you focus on changing light bulbs in nearby areas, it would make a more noticeable difference, Porter said.

Cook in the morning, or outside

Heat from the furnace can spread throughout your home. Keep the heat centralized in one area. Or cook outdoors on a grill to keep the heat out.

Enjoy Frozen Treats

Eating a popsicle or ice cream to cool down can help for a moment. But don’t overdo the sugar if it’s overheated or you risk overheating, Porter said.

“Sugar would increase your metabolism and you would start to feel warm internally,” he said. “So the refreshing sweet might be good, but the extra sugar might not be.”

Research what your state offers

If you’ve tried everything and still can’t beat the heat at home, you can look online for local programs that offer ductless air conditioners.

Depending on your state, some cooling centers — air-conditioned public facilities where people can relieve themselves during extremely hot weather — may be open and taking precautions to ensure they are as safe as possible. You can start by checking with local utility offices, as they would know who is offering certain programs, recommended Porter.

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