Intense summers in India: Simple tips to stay cool during heatwave conditions

Heatwave continues to intensify across parts of India, with the mercury soaring to the season's highest in states like Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the temperature neared 50 degrees Celsius in Sri Ganganagar. In the national capital, the India Meteorological Department issued the highest "red-colour" warning as the mercury rose to the season's high of 44.8 degrees Celsius.

With such scorching temperatures, it's important to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. Here are some tips to ensure you stay fit and healthy through intense summers.

• Hydrate

This can't be stressed enough, hydration is the main cause of dizziness, especially during summers. Your daily water intake should be between 3-4 litres a day.

Diluted fruit juices, lassi, lemon water, buttermilk can aid the rehydrating process. Avoid or limit intake of alcohol, tea, coffee and carbonated drinks that can dehydrate the body.

• Healthy eating habits

The best thing to do is to follow a light diet including summer veggies like squash, lauki, cucumber, ivy gourd, etc. Avoid heat generating foods like meat, eggs and other proteins, and even salt intake.

Summer time tends to reduce one's appetite because of excessive heat. But it is important for you to eat regularly because your body requires the nutrients to fight the heat and keep you healthy.

• Clothing can ease your hardships

Avoid going outside during peak hours - between 11 a.m and 3 p.m - as this is the hottest part of the day.

Needless to say, to stay cool you need to wear loose clothes so that there is good air circulation. Ditch your synthetic dresses and trousers and stick to cotton. Even while heading out, keep yourself covered from the harsh rays.

• Keep your rooms cool

Use shades or reflective materials outside the windows. Also, close windows and pull down the shades when it is hot outside. You can open your ventilators during the cooler hours.

Certain factors like concrete buildings, top floors, pollution, etc can make the situation worse by trapping heat.

• Avoid physical activities during peak hours

Physical activity is essential for good health, but during summers, make sure that you don't over exert yourself. Try to avoid any strenuous physical activity outside, especially between noon and 3 pm. Perhaps, it would be a good idea to schedule your workout for cooler parts of the day.