Seek out indoor activities, particularly during the hottest part of the day.
The sun’s peak hours are generally 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“There are times you are going to be in the sun, but if you can avoid as much direct sunlight as possible, it is better,” Mr. Schichtel said.
Wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing, and take cool showers or baths.
“If you can pour water on exposed skin, that is going to allow your body to cool down,” Mr. Schichtel said.
Applying cold, wet towels on the neck, wrist, groin and armpit areas can help bring down the core body temperature.
“When these parts of the body with high concentration of blood vessels near the skin come in contact with the cold, it helps transferring heat out of the body to cool down faster,” said Dr. Shubhayu Saha, a health scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice.
Wearing a hat protects you from direct sun; sunburns affect your body’s ability to cool down and can make you dehydrated, according to the C.D.C. And electric fans will go only so far; air-conditioners are better for keeping your body cool.
Don’t leave children or pets in a car, which can swelter in the sun.
The sun’s radiation heats objects that it strikes, such as a dark dashboard or seat, warming the air trapped inside a vehicle. It takes about two minutes for a car to go from a safe temperature to an unsafe 94.3 degrees, according to General Motors and San Francisco State University, and can even reach temperatures of over 200 degrees. Here are some tips for how to keep children cool safely.
Learn the signs of heat stroke and heat exhaustion.
The C.D.C. lists some of the signs as dizziness, a rapid pulse, nausea, headache and fainting. But symptoms can vary. Those having heat stroke, which is potentially fatal, might have a rapid but strong pulse, while those with heat exhaustion might have a rapid but weak one.
