The elderly can be particularly badly affected by high temperatures

28.06.2008 - This is the fifth summer that this plan has been in place and each year greater num­bers of health workers are trained to deal with the ef­fects of heat stroke and re­lated conditions. 

For high temperatures to be considered a heatwave they must rise to 33 degrees centigrade and not fall below 23 degrees during any period of time. Their strength and duration are also awarded one of four different levels of alert. If the weather is unusually hot, but doesn’t quite meet these requisites then it is considered a green alert, or level zero. If the temperatures are reached over a period of one or two days it is declared a level one, or yellow alert. If the temperatures continue for three or four days it is an orange, or level two, and if they carry on for five days or more, which has often been the case in the past, a red, level three, alert is called.

To ensure that the relevant authorities are aware of any approaching heat waves a system of information dissemination is included in the plan.

Adverse weather predic­tions for periods of five days at a time are texted to or­ganisations that deal with the targeted groups.



This article appears in the print edition 567 of Island Connections

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