As this summer heat takes its toll on Vermonters, the\u00a0Vermont Department of Health<\/a> has been monitoring the effects of heat and has found that people are at greater risk for serious heat-related illnesses when the statewide average temperature reaches 87\u00b0F or hotter.\u00a0 Based on an analysis of historical data, on days reaching 87\u00b0F or hotter:<\/p>\n While typically we\u2019ve thought of the elderly, sick and the very young as particularly at risk, what stands out in recent analysis is that young adults are particularly vulnerable. Recent research on college students in Boston showed that heat can slow down reaction times and lowered performance on basic arithmetic tests.<\/p>\n When working in the field or at a farmers market, bear this possible cognitive decline in mind.\u00a0 \u00a0Vermont Department of Health<\/a> recommends a number of preventative measures including: –<\/p>\n Know the symptoms of heat illnesses such as muscle cramps, weakness, heavy sweating, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. These symptoms can usually be treated through rest in a cool, shady place and by drinking cool beverages If symptoms do not improve or if confusion or fainting occurs, you should seek immediate medical attention, as heat stroke can result in death<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the end of is not in sight for heat waves.\u00a0 The number of days reaching a statewide average of at least 87\u00b0F is expected to increase in the future due to climate change from 6 days a year (1981-2010 average) to 15 \u2013 20 days by 2050<\/p>\n For any of us working on a farm, avoiding the outdoors is not an option.\u00a0 So taking breaks to stay hydrated and to cool down in shady areas needs to be made a priority and shifting and alternating schedules so that weeding is done in the earliest part of the day when it\u2019s cooler.<\/p>\n Stay informed by:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s hot.\u00a0 This summer heat records have been broken across the Northeast from Burlington, Vermont to Portland Maine and Hartford, Connecticut. In Burlington, Vermont, we’ve just lived through the hottest month since the\u00a0National Weather Service\u00a0began keeping records in 1892.\u00a0\u00a0Over the month of July 2018, a new record of 21 days was set for most days […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2854,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[403032,31353,416525],"tags":[271869,223],"class_list":["post-640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate-change-adaptation","category-health","category-heat","tag-climate","tag-climate-change"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/farmclim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/farmclim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/farmclim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/farmclim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2854"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/farmclim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=640"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/farmclim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":652,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/farmclim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640\/revisions\/652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/farmclim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/farmclim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/farmclim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/farmclim\/files\/2018\/08\/hotweather690x400-300x174.jpg\")
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