Heat wave reaches ‘the tail end’ in Southern California
When the temperature reaches the highest point in Los Angeles County, the air is too hot to breathe, and people run around with dust masks. It’s not a usual summer condition, but a heat wave in Los Angeles — the kind that could kill you — has begun.
We’re not talking about heat stroke, nor the kind that comes after a hard workout session, like when a city worker falls in the swimming pool and has to be rushed to the hospital.
We’re talking about the kind of high-altitude conditions that lead to heat stroke.
This can’t be good.
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It gets worse — even for people who live in an upper-middle-class area.
A little over a half hour after heat wave conditions are posted, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will reveal their “heat danger warning” levels for the city, which will go on to predict that the temperatures will reach levels that will make people sick.
The heat is expected to peak at 110 degrees — on the hotter end of the heat danger scale — in about 4 to 6 hours, according to the National Weather Service.
Those in the heat wave’s path will be advised to stay inside and drink plenty of water.
A warning level of 110 means that even the slightest rise in temperature can be dangerous.
The danger may not be as bad as it sounds.
“A lot of times people don’t take a few minutes to drink some water, so they drink a lot of water,” said Bill Shipps, a meteorologist with the weather service in San Diego.
“By the time they get to the hospital, they’re dehydrated.”
Here’s the thing — the “heat danger” warning actually isn’t really about heat. It’s about making sure people who live in certain areas of Southern California have the proper gear to deal with the extreme temperatures that are about to come.
The warning is also designed to alert people to the potential danger of heat stroke, which is caused by the body’s inability to regulate temperature.
So what can you do to prepare for a heat wave?
Drink plenty of water — the hotter the weather, the more water you should drink. “It takes away a lot of the toxins that you’ve been drinking in the past,” Shipps said.
