Coping with extreme weather

Summer weather advice

During the summer months we are now seeing more extreme weather events including heatwaves and heavy rainfall, which can have an adverse effect on our health and wellbeing. With more of us out and about in the summer months we’re often doing activities that might impact our safety.  On these pages are some useful tips and advice to help us all stay safe, well and prepared this summer.

Heatwave advice

During the summer months the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will work with the Met Office to issue impact based Heat-Health alerts, alongside the weather forecast if the weather is so hot that it has the potential to affect people’s health, and will help you to take steps to protect yourself and others.

The Met Office issues weather warnings, for other severe weather events, through the National Severe Weather Warning Service, when severe weather has the potential to bring impacts to the UK including disruption to travel, safety and health.  These warnings are given a colour either Yellow, Amber or Red.  With Red being dangerous weather expected action needed now to keep safe.  See the Met Office website for explanations of what the alerts mean on the Met Office Weather Guides Warnings web pages.

You can stay up to date and informed by visiting: Met Office website or see the Adverse Weather and Health Plan on GOV.UK

Sign up to Heat Health Alerting system

You can sign up to receive the Heat-Health Alerts via the Met Office website or via the UKSHA and Met Office Weather Health Alert registration form

What the different alert colours mean

• Green (preparedness): Likely to have minimal impact on health and businesses will operate as usual.
• Yellow (response): These alerts cover a range of situations. Yellow alerts may be issued during periods of heat/cold which would be unlikely to impact most people but could impact those who are particularly vulnerable.
• Amber (enhanced response): An amber alert indicates that weather impacts have the potential for the whole population to be at risk.  Health services are likely to be affected with some services such as hospitals experiencing busier than usual periods, putting pressure on services offered.  Other non-health sectors may start to be impacted such as schools closures, travel disruptions, and other disruptions to normal service delivery.
• Red (emergency response): A red alert indicates significant risk to life for even the healthy population. At this point a coordinated emergency response for communities will be put in place with the relevant emergency response partners. These include organisations such as health organisations, local authority, police, emergency services and other relevant organisations and stakeholders. 

Heat health safety, who is most at risk during a heatwave

Anyone can become unwell when the weather is hot. People who are at higher risk of becoming seriously unwell include:

• older people aged 65 years and over
• babies and young children aged 5 years and under
• people with underlying health conditions including: heart problems, breathing problems, dementia, diabetes, kidney disease, Parkinson’s disease, mobility problems, or a mental health condition
• pregnant women
• people on certain medications that potentially affect heart or kidney function, cognition, or ability to sweat
• people who are already ill and dehydrated (for example from diarrhoea and vomiting)
• people who experience alcohol or drug dependence
• people who are physically active and spend a lot of time outside such as runners, cyclists and walkers
• people who work in jobs that require manual labour or extensive time outside
• people experiencing homelessness, including rough sleepers and those who are unable to make adaptations to their living accommodation such as sofa surfers or living in hostels.

When a heatwave does occur, it is important to be prepared and take steps to reduce the risks both for yourself and those friends and relatives that may be vulnerable. There are many simple ways to do this and you can find easy to follow guidance on the GOV.UK hot weather and health guidance web pages.

You can contact us if you are concerned about someone sleeping rough.

How to recognise the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke

To help spot the signs of someone with heat exhaustion and heat stroke check out this guidance from the NHS heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Top tips for keeping cool

The following tips for keeping cool feature on the NHS how to cope in hot weather web pages.

• keep out of the sun at the hottest time of the day, between 11am and 3pm
• if you are going to do a physical activity (for example exercise or walking the dog), plan to do these during times of the day when it is cooler such as the morning or evening
• keep your home cool by closing windows and curtains in rooms that face the sun
• if you do go outside, cover up with suitable clothing such as an appropriate hat and sunglasses, seek shade and apply sunscreen
• drink plenty of fluids and limit your alcohol intake
• check on family, friends and neighbours who may be at higher risk of becoming unwell, and if you are at higher risk, ask them to do the same for you
• know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke and what to do if you or someone else has them
• be aware of the beat the heat: keep cool at home checklist - GOV.UK

Sun safety

Spend time in the shade when the sun is strongest. In the UK, this is between 11am and 3pm from March to October.

Make sure you:

• spend time in the shade between 11am and 3pm during summer months
• never burn
• cover up with suitable clothing and sunglasses
• take extra care with children
• use at least factor 30 sunscreen

More information can be found on the NHS sunscreen and sun safety web pages.

Keep up to date on extreme weather in Kingston

Follow the Kingston Countil social media accounts for the latest information and advice and details on any of our services that might be affected. Facebook and Twitter. 

What to do in a drought

During extended periods of dry weather we may experience a drought. There are several health impacts associated with drought. The health consequences are related to dehydration, increase of transmission of infectious diseases and poorer mental health. During extended periods of low rainfall, we may be asked to reduce unnecessary use of water, for example, by not washing our cars or watering our gardens or filling pools with a hosepipe. If the situation gets more severe, water resources may need to be conserved further, with use limited to essential needs such as drinking, cooking, and hygiene practices. There are things we can all do to protect ourselves from the potential health consequences of drought visit the GOV.UK drought advice web pages.

Your water supply - keep informed

All water in the borough is currently supplied by Thames Water you can sign up for updates in your area including information on water restrictions, emergencies and service updates in areas on the Thames Water web pages.

 Priority services register

If you or someone you know needs extra help during an outage or emergency they can be signed up for the Priority Service Register if they are eligible Thames Water Priority Service.

Water safety

For Water Safety tips and guidance please refer to the Council’s Staying Safe near the water webpage where more information can be found about:

• what to do if you fall into the water
• doing activities on the water safely
• Kingston’s river safety forum
• water safety in extreme conditions

Fire safety in the summer

We may be cooking in the garden or out and about this summer with BBQs but  be BBQ safe. London Fire home cooking and BBQ safety web pages have more guidance. 

Be aware that the use of any type of BBQ (disposable or reusable) is not permitted in parks and open spaces within the borough. 

Never use a BBQ – including disposables – indoors or on your balcony

Fire safety while out and about

Fires can start easier than you think when out and about in the summer, particularly after a long dry spell.  Last summer saw various wildfires and fires starting where grassland areas, forests, heaths and commons caught alight.  Once started these can cause danger to  lives, homes, businesses and our wildlife and the impact of them is long lasting. Barbecues, camping stoves and open fires in the countryside can quickly spread and get out of control.

Extinguish smoking materials properly. Throwing cigarette ends on the ground our out of a car window can start a wildfire

Take your rubbish with you! Bottles and glass can start wildfire as they magnify the sun.

If you see a fire in our countryside here's what to do:

• immediately call 999 and ask for the fire service, giving your exact location
• do not attempt to tackle the fire yourself, get out of the smoke and into clear air
• follow the advice and guidance from the emergency services call handler
• get far away from the fire, it can spread incredibly quickly. Your safety is the most important thing

Compost Fire Safety

Compost piles or bins naturally produce heat, on rare occasions during periods of hot weather compost piles can catch fire. The key to preventing any issues is proper maintenance of your organic matter to prevent hot compost bins or piles. 

Remember to:

• locate away from heat sources and combustible materials e.g. fuels, oils, hay, straw and wood.
• keep your compost pile moist, if you are worried that it is too dry and could be a fire risk take a watering can or hose and add a bit of moisture
• keep a good balance of green and brown materials
• keep turning the pile so that the heat dissipates. 
• if temperatures within the pile can be measured between 82 and 93 degrees celsius, break the pile down and spread the materials out in a layer 6 to 8 inches thick and soak the thinner layer with water.

Food safety

Foodborne illness tends to increase in summer due to a variety of factors, including warmer temperatures. Stay healthy and safe during warmer months by following the Food Standards Agency advice on food safety and hygiene with information for preparing and cooking food at home, buying and eating food, food poisoning and food safety advice.

Hot Weather and Asthma

There have been instances where thunderstorms have been linked to an increase in people reporting asthma symptons. For more information and guidance, you can visit the GOV.UK website.

To read more about what can heighten asthma symptons visit the Asthma and Lung UK website.