A severe heatwave warning was issued for areas including the Noosa region this week, with the Queensland Ambulance Service experiencing an increased demand.
Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) spokesperson Kent Jackson urged Queenslanders to stay safe in this heat by taking simple measures like staying in the shade or air conditioning where possible and drinking cool water.
Kent said the community should not be engaging in any strenuous exercise during the peak of the day.
“People that we are particularly concerned about with the summer heat are pregnant or breastfeeding women, young children, the elderly, and people with existing medical conditions,” he said.
“With this cohort of people, there is an increased risk of exacerbating medical conditions or suffering from heat related illness. So, we always encourage those people to take particular care.”
Signs of more serious, heat-related illness include people experiencing nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath and dizziness.
“That’s when we want to pull them out of the heat and contact triple zero for their assessment and treatment,” Kent said.
“If you are engaging in more strenuous exercise, you want to make sure you’re properly hydrated and you’re wanting to wear hats. Seek shade, seek air conditioning fans, cool compresses, ice packs, that sort of thing, whatever you can access with whatever’s available to you.”
Kent said young healthy people can forget to listen to their bodies or drink enough water during the day.
“It’s always best to take a water bottle with you wherever you go,” he said.
“Heat related illness can creep up on anyone, not just the vulnerable groups.”
Kent said the Queensland Ambulance Service does expect to see increased workload over the coming days.
“Particularly as this heat event continues, we just encourage the community to stay safe during these hotter than average temperatures.”
Maximum temperatures in Noosa are set to remain close to thirty degrees in the coming week, with overnight minimum temperatures in the low twenties.
