27 de junio de 2023

HEAT / HIGH TEMPERATURES: measures to prevent and treat their harmful effects / CALOR / ALTAS TEMPERATURAS: medidas para prevenir y tratar sus efectos nocivos / CHALEUR / HAUTES TEMPÉRATURES : mesures pour prévenir et traiter leurs effets néfastes / ТЕПЛО/ВЫСОКИЕ ТЕМПЕРАТУРЫ: меры по предотвращению и опасности их вредного воздействия

CALOR/ALTAS TEMPERATURAS: medidas para prevenir e tratar seus efeitos nocivos / 高溫/高溫:預防和治療其有害影響的措施 / 高温/高温:それらの有害な影響を防止および処理するための対策 / HITZE/HOHE TEMPERATUREN: Maßnahmen zur Vorbeugung und Behandlung ihrer schädlichen Auswirkungen / CALORE/ALTE TEMPERATURE: misure per prevenire e curare i loro effetti nocivi / गर्मी/उच्च तापमान: उनके हानिकारक प्रभावों को रोकने और उनका इलाज करने के उपाय / 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pulsar aqui parsa ver la versión española de este artículo

HEAT / HIGH TEMPERATURESmeasures to prevent and treat their harmful effects

We do not know for sure if the high temperatures that we are experiencing these days (TEMPERATURES HIGHER THAN 40 DEGREES IN MANY AREAS OF SPAIN) are due to global warming or climate change, or are a temporary episode, but the truth is that we are reaching the maximum records

It seems that the ideal caloric levels for humans are those between 15 and 30 degrees Celsius (between 59 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit); if they increase to 35/40 degrees, they produce, in addition to an uncomfortable sensation, negative consequences for health and that also entail risks of forest fires...

One of the worst consequences of the so-called heat waves are deaths from hyperthermia or heat stroke: statistical data show that deaths from this cause increase markedly during periods of extreme heat

They are also at risk of sunstroke, sunburn, and physical and mental exhaustion.

The danger increases for those people who have decreased defenses (chronically ill, elderly, infants, malnourished, alcoholics, drug addicts, obese, etc.)

People who work outdoors and in the sun (bricklayers, farmers, etc.) and athletes who carry out intense activities outdoors (cyclists, runners, mountain climbers, etc.) can also be considered people at risk.


Personal prevention and treatment measures to combat the harmful effects of heat and sunstroke

- Consume plenty of fluids to maintain sufficient hydration and compensate for the losses that occur through sweat and breathing; Drink at least 2 liters of liquids daily (water, isotonic drinks, infusions, etc.). Avoid very cold drinks, especially if we are hot and sweating

- And also avoid drinking alcoholic or sugary drinks, colas, coffee, etc.

- Eat mainly based on salads, vegetables, fruits, gazpachos, etc.

- Limit outdoor work or sports activities during the sunniest and hottest hours

- Outside: walk or stay in shady places

- Protect yourself with hats and sunglasses

- Wear loose clothing and light, breathable footwear.

- To prevent the fearsome melanomas (skin cancer), limit the time of the so-called "sunbaths" on beaches and swimming pools (sun exposure should not exceed 15/30 minutes per day) especially during the days and hours of greater light incidence (Spring and summer months between 11 am and 5 pm); in any case, use photoprotective creams on the face, hands and other body areas that are not covered by clothing and also bathe or soak frequently; pay special attention to children

- If you use a vehicle on hot days, use the air conditioning and do not stay inside the car when it is stopped and in the sun.

- Inside the house, if air conditioning is not available, ventilate - open the windows - at night and early in the morning, and close them during the day; lowering the blinds in sunny areas; use fans and stay or sleep in the coolest rooms; keep in mind that the least hot areas or rooms in a house are those located on the ground floor or first floors

- If you suffer from fainting or dizziness due to heat or if you suffer from serious or chronic diseases (cardiovascular, diabetes, cancer, kidney ailments, etc.) or if you are elderly, it is advisable to consult a doctor about the most appropriate measures or convenience to take certain drugs and call the 112 Emergency Service, if necessary

- And in any case, follow the prevention instructions that health services usually disseminate through the media.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


FOREST FIRES

Heat waves cause numerous forest fires due to environmental dryness that especially affects trees and plants in forested areas.

 Every year there are in the world:

- 400,000 forest fires, with 500 million hectares burned

- In Spain:

- 20,000 forest fires, with 150,000 hectares burned, valued at around 2 million euros

- There is also environmental damage since forests originate and conserve biological diversity, provide oxygen, attract water and maintain humidity, thus preventing erosion (which affects 40-50% of the Spanish forest area)

After a fire, a forest takes dozens of years (sometimes more than 100) to recover.

CAUSES OF FOREST FIRES

- 90-95% of fires are caused, intentionally or negligently; On the other hand, due to the rural exodus, the mountains lack sufficient care, which has a negative influence.

- Due to negligence:

- Smoking, throwing matches or butts

- Burn stubble or bushes or light fires in periods and areas of risk or not completely extinguish them (incidence 15-20%)

- Poor insulation of recreational and camping areas

- Circulation of motor vehicles on forest tracks; the proximity of the exhaust pipes with herbs or dried vegetables can cause fire

- Leaving rubbish or flammable products in inappropriate places

- Abandonment of grazing and traditional firewood collection

- Massive reforestation of conifers

- Industrial or agricultural work with machinery or flammable products without sufficient control

- Fire rockets or carry out pyrotechnic activities in places exposed to the spread

- For intentional reasons:

- Urban speculations

- Wood market

- Insurance collection

- Revenge or neighborhood disputes

- Obtaining contracts or interim work hours for firefighting

- Livestock interests to expand pastures

- Due to natural or fortuitous events:

- Storms, lightning (4-7%)

- Earthquakes

- Meteorites

- Accidents of vehicles, planes, etc.

- Sparks or falling power lines


MEASURES TO PREVENT AND COMBAT FOREST FIRES.-

- Pre-fire measures:

- Prohibition of lighting fires, except in authorized times and areas

- Prohibit the movement of vehicles and people through risk areas

- Improve the management of forests throughout the year; alternate forests with crops or pastures (chessboard), repopulate with fire-resistant species, access roads, firebreaks, cleaning, etc.

- Increased surveillance (observation watchtowers, use of drones, helicopters, planes and satellites, motorcycle patrols, etc.)

- Maintain and increase permanent staff teams throughout the year for prevention, surveillance and extinction and not hire interim staff by the hour when the fire breaks out, but rather professional fire brigades

- Fight speculation by applying art. 355 of the Penal Code so that the areas affected by a forest fire cannot be modified within a period of thirty years, limiting or prohibiting the uses that have been carried out in said areas and intervening in the use of wood

- If you observe people who carry out acts of risk, try to reason so that they do not continue

- Report violations to law enforcement officials

- Keep a security strip of 50/100 m clean of dry vegetation. wide around the houses and villages adjoining the forest

- Check electrical installations and lines

- Keep the margins and ditches of highways and paths or access to forest areas clean of weeds.

- Reforestation immediately after the fire, to avoid the degradation of the burned land (plant 10 trees for each one burned)

- When the fire starts:

- If it is still incipient, try to put it out by hitting it with a green branch or pouring water or earth on the base of the flames and their surroundings

- Remove vegetation from the environment so that it does not spread

- Once the fire has been extinguished, verify its complete extinction before leaving, to prevent hidden embers from restarting the fire later

- Report what happened to the authorities.

- If the fire is important, alert the extinguishing services, calling 112 and, upon arrival, collaborate with them

- Try to remain calm and cold-blooded and provide an exit, so as not to be surrounded by fire

- Do not leave roads, tracks or trails

- Move away from the fire in the opposite direction to its advance, if possible, down slope and against the wind (observe the smoke)

- Do not cross through a burning area

- Escape through already burned lands

- Do not stand at high altitudes

If the fire is very close, protect the body, hands and head with thick clothing, if possible wet or damp

- If clothes catch fire, do not run but roll on the ground and/or cover the affected person with a blanket or pour water or earth on him

- In the event that the fire surrounds the area preventing escape, protect yourself in water if available (streams, ditches, ponds, etc.) or lie behind rocks or holes in the ground and wait until the surrounding vegetation burns

- If you are trapped in a house surrounded by fire, close doors and windows and protect the bottom of the doors and cracks with wet rags

- If there are power lines in the area, disconnect the current

- Avoid thick and dry vegetation

- Avoid troughs (they can act as chimneys) especially if the fire is in lower areas

- If there is smoke, cover your nose and mouth with a wet handkerchief


FIRST AID FOR PEOPLE BURNED OR WITH SYMPTOMS OF SUFFOCATION

- Remove the injured person from the focus to a safe place and place him in a horizontal position on his back or in a lateral position if his back is burned, and face down if the burns affect his sides and back.

- Notify the emergency services, calling 112 for assistance and evacuation

- When the injured person's clothing is in contact with the burn, do not remove it if you observe that it is adhered to the skin

- Cool the burn with jets of cold water

- Do not burst the blisters or treat it with ointments or ointments without a medical prescription

- Protect burns with clean cloths and if possible with sterile compresses

- Cover the victim to prevent him from getting cold, even if it is summer

- Do not give food or drink to the severely burned person who is unconscious; if conscious, give small sips to drink to rehydrate the body

- Do not supply alcoholic beverages

- In case of symptoms of suffocation due to breathing smoke or combustion gases, if it does not recover spontaneously, practice artificial respiration and cardiac massage when no pulsations are perceived

INVESTIGATION AND FIGHT AGAINST ARMISONS

- Given the enormous extension of the wooded land, its isolation and the lack of human presence and surveillance, many of the fires are caused intentionally (several sources simultaneously or in different areas at the same time, use of incendiary devices, etc.) by criminals who act on their own initiative (revenge, interests, psychopathies) or hired by others; they often use motorcycles or all-terrain vehicles that make it easy to flee from the place.

These subjects are difficult to identify and detain (only 2-3% of the perpetrators are arrested), so the control and investigations would have to be intensified with more personnel and specialized technical means (surveillance, fingerprint and DNA analysis in failed incendiary devices, verification of traces of tires of suspicious vehicles in the vicinity of the initial outbreaks, telephone tapping and home searches of people with backgrounds or economic interests, etc.)

- Another type of intentional authorship is that produced by the so-called arsonists, whose profile responds to that of a man with a rather low IQ, who enjoys or is delirious when he sees the flames and their effects; sometimes it is he himself who warns about the fire and collaborates in the extinction.

Currently, in addition to the use of ground fire brigades equipped with all-terrain vehicles, with the classic buckets and hoses, and helicopters, larger and larger transport planes are being used that can unload several tons of water or retardant liquids on fires. hot spots or hard-to-reach areas.

From now on, if the global warming of the planet continues, the best way to combat forest fires should be through the use of more means (planes, etc.) and especially more specialized personnel (firefighters, rangers and forest workers) for surveillance tasks, forest clearing and construction of access roads and firebreaks. The necessary economic investments would be more than compensated with the conservation and maintenance of an irreplaceable forest ecological heritage and also with an increase in jobs.

Cuando un bosque se quema, algo nuestro se quema...

Prevention is essential: Fires must be put out in/since the previous WINTER!!...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WARNING TO READERS OF THIS ARTICLE:

The information and medical opinions contained in this article are for informational purposes only and, in no case, should and cannot replace the advice of a doctor; Any person who feels affected by symptoms or suspicions of suffering from a disease or needing a vaccine, does not comply with this information, and should go to the consultation of a doctor, or corresponding health specialist, for advice, diagnosis of their condition and prescribes the medication or treatment he deems appropriate.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ver estos videos: 

EXTINCIÓN DE INCENDIOS UTILIZANDO GRANDES AVIONES ANFIBIOS

VIDEOS DE LOS ULTIMOS INCENDIOS (2022) EN ESPAÑA Y EUROPA

Ver también:

REPOBLACIÓN FORESTAL: Plantar millones de árboles / FOREST REPOBLATION: Plant millions of trees / REPOBLATION FORESTIÈRE: Plantez des millions d'arbres / ЛЕСНАЯ РЕПОБЛЯЦИЯ: посадить миллионы деревьев