The National Heat Plan will come into effect on Monday, reports the RIVM Sunday. The institute also warns of smog in the air, due to heat in a large part of Europe. People who are sensitive to smog can get complaints from it.
The National Heat Plan is an action plan aimed at alerting organisations, professionals and volunteers in good time to predicted persistent heat, whereby measures must be taken to protect vulnerable groups, such as the elderly.
Warm weather can mean that people who are unable to properly care for themselves may experience discomfort and more serious health problems. These include fatigue, headaches, concentration problems and dehydration and heat strokes.
The elderly are the largest vulnerable group, because they are less able to control their body temperature. They are also less likely to feel thirsty than younger people.
Others can also have problems, for example people with a chronic condition, people in social isolation, the homeless, overweight people and (very) young children. “Both extreme heat and high concentrations of ozone in the summer (summer smog) affect everyone, but summer smog also has vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, children, people with respiratory diseases and people who exercise in the open air,” according to RIVM. .
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