The number of cases of heat exhaustion across the country are on the rise and doctors, who are receiving tens of such cases daily according to a Gulf News report, are urging people to stay out of the sun.
Doctors practising at clinics or medical centres located in industrial areas in particular reveal that they treat an average of six heat exhaustion cases, out of a total 15 patients they receive daily.
Weathermen say that the temperature has not yet been recorded at extreme levels this summer, but the impact of the hot air conditions may severely affect the people who work outdoors or hang out in open spaces during the day.
A spokesperson at the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) told The Gulf Today that the temperature during the day and the humidity in the evening have soared in the UAE and across the Gulf region before the advent of Ramadan, albeit it’s not extreme as expected during this time of the year.
“The maximum temperature recorded these days in the UAE is 47°C in the interior parts of the country during the day, while it’s 40°C to 42°C on the coastline and at islands,” he added.
“The monsoon season in India has caused the severe hot air conditions in the Middle East region as well as in South Europe,” the Met officer revealed.
“During the night, the currently recorded temperature is between 26°C and 30°C in general, but on the coastline and islands it’s 29°C to 33°C. The lowest temperature recorded in some parts of the country is 26°C,” he explained.
Gulf Today quoted Dr Sarfaraz Khapatwala, general physician at ASTER Medical Centre in Aweer, saying that he received three cases of severe heat exhaustion cases on Sunday, and another three cases on Monday.
“These patients, as they didn’t adopt sufficient protection from the soaring temperature levels, suffered mostly from dizziness, excessive sweating, weakness, severe muscle cramp, while the patients with severe conditions suffered from giddiness and vomiting,” Dr Khapatwala noted.
“But minor heat exhaustion cases could be managed by drinking 180 ml water at least every 20 minutes, if the patient is not vomiting. Energy drinks also can be given to them, but juices and soft or fizzy drinks should be avoided as they endanger the patients’ lives further,” the doctor advised.
Weather reports say that the temperature during Ramadan in the UAE could be an average of 36°C to 46°C. No major change has been predicted for the Holy Month.