What to do if there is a heat wave

Official updatesLU-Alert · RTL, 100.7 · 112

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Drink water regularly through the day, at least Status: Verified per person. Hot weather can double what your body needs.
Stay indoors or in the shade during the hottest hours (Status: Verified). If you must go out, cover your head, wear light loose clothes and avoid strenuous activity.
Keep the heat out of the home. Close blinds and shutters by day, and open the windows at night when the air outside is cooler.
Cool your body several times a day with a cool shower, or a wet cloth on your neck, arms and face. A fan helps, but on its own it is not enough on the hottest days.
If your home will not cool down, spend the hottest hours somewhere cool: a large shop, a cinema, a library, or a cooling centre announced by the authorities.
Watch for heatstroke: a body temperature above Status: Verified, hot dry red skin, headache, nausea, confusion, convulsions or fainting. Call Status: Verified, move the person somewhere cool and wet their skin while you wait.
Check on neighbours who are older, ill or alone several times a day, and never leave a person or a pet in a parked car, not even for a few minutes.

Heat alerts come through LU-Alert, the radio and the news. Orange means the felt temperature averages Status: Verified or more for at least two days. Red means Status: Verified or more for at least three days, and calls for every measure on this page. See Alerts and sirens.
Know who in your household is most at risk: children under Status: Verified, adults over Status: Verified, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with a chronic illness, and anyone who works outdoors.

Fit blinds, shutters or thick curtains on the sunny side, and find the coolest room in the home to sleep in.
A fan or air conditioning helps during orange and red alerts. Plan where you would go if the home stays hot: a cool public place, or friends with a cooler flat.
Store more water than usual: the normal Status: Verified per person per day, plus Status: Verified while it is hot.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist which of your medicines must be kept cool.
Keep a hat, light clothes, a bottle of water and a spray bottle ready by the door.
Agree with neighbours and family who checks on whom, and how often, while an alert is on.
If the power fails during the heat, the fridge and the fans stop too: see Power is out.

Keep checking on older or ill neighbours until the alert is lifted, not only on the hottest day.
Anyone who had signs of heatstroke needs a doctor, even if they feel better.
Air the home thoroughly once the nights are cooler again.
Restock the water you used, and check the medicines that were kept cool.
Write down which rooms stayed hottest and what helped, and plan improvements before next summer, such as shade, insulation or a fan.

Children under Status: Verified are a risk group. Offer drinks often, keep them out of the sun in the middle of the day, and dress them lightly.
Never leave a child in a parked car, not even while you pop into a shop.
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, you are in a risk group too: rest, drink and stay cool.

Over Status: Verified, or living with a chronic illness, you are at higher risk. Arrange for someone to check on you several times a day, by phone or in person.
Drink regularly through the day and keep the home as cool as you can.
If your home stays hot and you cannot get to a cooler place alone, tell a neighbour, your family or your commune now, not on the hottest day.

Never leave an animal in a parked car. Keep water within reach at all times, at least Status: Verified a day for a dog and Status: Verified for a cat, and give them a shaded or cool place to lie.

A flat under the roof or facing the sun may not cool down at night even with the windows open. Sleep in the coolest room, and plan to spend the hottest hours somewhere cooler.