•Dangers posed by extreme heat include stroke,raised blood pressure ―Experts
SADE OGUNTOLA reports on the effect of the heat wave on the living conditions of many Nigerians in the past weeks.
FOR many Nigerians, the hot weather experienced over the past days is really unbearable. A warning by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency indicated that the rising temperatures and high humidity levels may cause heat discomfort across several regions.
The heat stress warning said the impact will be more in North-Central and Eastern states, including Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Ebonyi, Nasarawa, Benue, Enugu, Anambra, Oyo, Abia, Cross River, FCT and Ebonyi States. Other vulnerable regions include South-West states, coastal areas, Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Sokoto and Zamfara States.
The possibility of heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and muscle cramps was raised for almost all parts of Nigeria, particularly the South-Western, South-Eastern, and North-Central states. Also, the likelihood of Nigerians experiencing fatigue, irritability, reduced focus and motor skills, and lower productivity was indicated.
“The hot weather does not allow for free movements, particularly in the afternoon. Everywhere is hot, the body is hot, too. Despite the few rains, periods between 1 pm and 2 pm are still really hot. The heat is unbearable,” retorted Mr Herbert Onyemere, a 75-year-old man living at Abayomi Estate, Ibadan.
While speaking with Sunday Tribune, Rufiat Akanbi, a mother of three, who runs a POS business, recounted how the hot weather affected her children and made her change some rules in her home.
Mrs Akanbi stated, “Before, I used to ask my children not to open the window, but I am the one who opens the window now because the weather is so hot. I don’t used to react to the heat, but this is different. Even in the evening, I find myself breaking out in sweat.
“About 2 or 3 weeks ago, all my children were unwell; the worst hit was the youngest among them. They also had rashes all over their body. I was told they had ‘Igbona’ because of the extremely hot weather. I spent a lot of money on their medication.”
Meanwhile, Mr Francis Oloye is able to cope with the hot weather, thanks to a solar fan always stationed close to him most of the day. Francis, who works with an electrical engineering company that deals with the installation of solar lights, however, experienced sunburn on his ankle area, which is always exposed while out working.
Though Mr Adesina Adeleke, a vulcaniser, acknowledged that the weather was far hotter than in previous years, he said even after the day’s work, his body temperature remains high. He declared that the heat is unbearable and only gets by during the day by drinking water throughout.
Mrs Omolara Odeniyi, who hawks jewellery, said since the hot weather began, she had developed heat rashes around her neck and always felt hot when out to sell her wares.
“Back at home, you will expect things to be different. But once the sun sets, the heat absorbed by the walls of the house seeps out all through the night. This makes sleeping in these rooms also difficult.
“I remember that my neighbour, on a particular night, developed a stomach upset because of the heat,” Mrs Odeniyi added.
Even Mrs Yetunde Onajobi said the hot weather has made walking particularly difficult. According to her, “It is not funny. I remember a Sunday walking back from my church at Ojodu Berger, it was as if my shoe was melting. That is how hot it is, and nobody dares to walk barefoot.”
She said despite the few times there was rainfall, the heat is yet to go down, adding that she copes by drinking water and staying under the shade.
Going by the experiences of many Nigerians with the heat wave and the accompanying health conditions, its overall impact on living conditions and business operations remains to be seen
Meanwhile, experts have predicted that people may experience more hot weather conditions frequently as a result of climate change, which can be extremely deadly. Heat stress is the leading cause of weather-related deaths.
A report published during COP26, a UN climate summit in November 2021, suggested that Africa is heating faster than other regions of the world. It is also predicted that by 2030, up to 118 million extremely poor people will be subject to the devastating impacts of drought and intense heat.
Checks showed that extended periods of high daytime and nighttime temperature conditions create cumulative stress on the human body, increasing the risk of illness and death from heat exposure.
Exposure to high temperatures has wide-ranging effects in the body, often amplifying existing health problems and making older people and those with chronic conditions at particularly high risk, specifically in poor and marginalised communities that lack air conditioning and work outside.
Babies and young children are also highly vulnerable, both because they sweat less than adults, which makes it harder for them to cool down, even though their core heats up more quickly.
Children also tend to run around outside more than adults and may lack the judgment to limit their exertion and realise to drink more water during spells of hot weather.
If it is hot and dry, sweat evaporates easily, but the more humid it is, the harder this becomes. Fortunately, if humidity is low, humans can tolerate fairly extreme temperatures.
Experts’ consensus is that the current extremes of heat can pose dangers, ranging from exhaustion, stroke, raised blood pressure and poor sleep, particularly in children, the elderly and individuals with chronic illnesses like asthma and
A consultant physician and pulmonologist at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC), Ile Ife, Osun State, Professor Olufemi Adewole, said extremes of temperature can have significant effects on the respiratory system, especially in those with respiratory diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Prof Adewole said the increased temperature also gathers a lot of air pollutants that tend to worsen the respiratory state of individuals and therefore could trigger an asthmatic attack, which is necessary because such individuals are not using their medication.
He added that in such extremes of temperatures, the work of breathing is really difficult for them to cope with in such circumstances, as breathing in the polluted air causes the narrowing of the airway.
According to him, generally the young, elderly people, pregnant women and those who have underlying diseases – all of such individuals are at increased risk of respiratory disease like asthma in extremes of temperatures.
He stated that extremes of temperatures can lead to other medical issues, like heat exhaustion, heat stress, and tiredness; some will be dizzy before heat stroke, in which there will be some level of unconsciousness.
“So, it is good to let the patients with respiratory diseases be aware that, especially in this situation, even if they are using their medications very well, the heat could exacerbate their condition. So, they should be careful,” added Prof Adewole.
He, however, urged Nigerians to reduce their physical activity at periods of extreme temperatures, wear loose clothes, stay indoors when it is hot and drink more water.
“And then when you feel you are dizzy, you are not able to concentrate to work, for example, that may be sign of dehydration. Lose your dress as much as possible and then try and take a lot of cold water. If it is possible, try and have a cold shower. So that it does not go into cramps and exhaustion and eventually into heat strokes.”
Dr Oladimeji Adebayo, a cardiologist at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, said that several studies had reported that extremes of temperatures can have an effect on cardiovascular health.
“It may elevate blood pressure, especially daytime blood pressure, if the temperature is higher. There are also other impacts, like heat stroke and the likelihood of a heart attack. Heart failure patients are also advised to stay in a cool environment when it is extremely hot,” he added.
Dr Temitope Farombi, also a consultant neurologist at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, said that in extremes of hot temperatures, individuals can be a bit irritable and experience poor quality of sleep, therefore resulting in things like heat-related seizures.
She added, “And lack of sleep, we know, has a side effect in terms of it actually worsening blood pressure control. So, in that regard, it can lead to a stroke.
“Normally, the brain helps to regulate the body temperature. The brain causes the release of some chemicals to allow the holes on the skin to open and allow us to sweat more.
“But when there’s a disturbance in this regulatory mechanism, then of course, the pores will not be open, and then internal control will be distorted. And this can lead to problems. That is why strokes do affect older adults more than the younger ones, because there is more of a problem with regulation in the older adults.”
Dr Farombi added that extremely hot temperatures can also predispose some individuals with poor body temperature regulatory mechanisms to having heat-related seizures.
“Such an individual in extremes of heat will not be able to sleep; we know that lack of sleep can be a trigger or a risk factor for seizure in individuals with the condition,” she added.
Dr Oladoyin Odubanjo, a public health expert and the executive secretary of the Nigerian Academy of Science, declared that many people become dehydrated due to the extremes of heat without knowing.
He stated that many people, many times, don’t even realise that their tiredness is merely because of dehydration and because they are not drinking enough water even though they are sweating a lot more.
Dr Odubanjo reiterated that the human body contains between 60-70% water, and as such, the more of that water you take out, the greater the impact it’s going to have on health.
He declared, “If your body sees that you are sweating and you are losing too much liquid, then your blood vessels will try to narrow to ensure that not as much liquid is coming out to your skin, and you are passing out like that.
“And for somebody who is predisposed or already has certain damage to their blood vessels, it can worsen it and therefore can give rise to stroke. The reduced perfusion of blood to the organs of the body can become a major problem that manifests in different ways, including kidney damage. It can trip the individual into an already preexisting condition.”
Moreover, a hotter world is an unsafe one for women. One study in Nigeria from 2023 found that heat-related complications could result in a burden on female health by 2050, similar to that of breast cancer now.
Simply put, it is becoming a bigger and bigger risk for women to have children as the continent gets warmer. High temperatures trigger hormonal imbalances, disrupting menstrual cycles and causing more stress to women’s and girls’ bodies.
Heat also hampers childbirth. Because of differences in thermoregulation, or the way different biological sexes balance their core temperatures, females are more vulnerable, particularly if pregnant.
Foetal metabolism generates considerable heat, and high outside temperatures can overwhelm a mother’s body as she tries to dissipate excess heat and keep the foetus healthy.
Hot weather has been linked to many ailments for both mother and unborn baby, including preterm births, stillbirths, gestational diabetes, maternal haemorrhage, sepsis, dehydration, and endocrine dysfunction.
High ambient temperatures also increase rates of infections and illnesses that are high risk for pregnant people, such as malaria. Extreme weather events caused by climate change disrupt family planning and cause stress to women’s bodies, which affects the healthy growth of the baby inside the womb.
Dr Odubanjo, however, cautioned that the extremes of temperature could also be experienced at night, cautioning not to assume that their raised body temperature is because of malaria or other infectious diseases but rather a high atmospheric temperature.
Part of the strategies to deal with extremes of hot temperatures, Dr Odubanjo said, included individuals carrying water bottles around with them and sipping from them intermittently to ensure they don’t get dehydrated.
It is also important to keep the home cool by opening windows after dark when the outdoor temperature is lower than the indoor temperature. During the day, when outdoor temperatures are higher than indoors, close windows and cover them with blinds or shutters to block direct sunlight.
Electric fans should only be used when temperatures are below 40 ˚C / 104 ˚F. In temperatures above 40 ˚C / 104 ˚F, fans will heat the body. Also, it may be cooler outdoors in the shade, and taking cool showers or baths is helpful.
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