The General Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands has issued new risk warnings due to the excessive temperatures that the Archipelago is suffering. In the case of Lanzarote, and after learning about the forecast of alert situations in collaboration with the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), they will be extended until next Sunday, September 15.
The municipality of San Bartolomé will continue on red alert for high risk due to high temperatures, at least until this Sunday. After that, the municipalities of Yaiza and Tías will be on yellow alert for low risk to the population for the same reason. This forecast means that the heat wave that has hit the Islands since the beginning of the month will continue throughout the week.
The temperature thresholds established in the Plan of Preventive Actions of the Effects of Excess Temperatures on Health in 2023 are 33 degrees Celsius for the province of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and 34 degrees Celsius for the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The criterion for assigning health risk levels for situations of excess temperature, determined by the Ministry of Health, is based on a decision algorithm. Depending on that algorithm, based on the expected maximum temperatures, the established threshold, the number of days of persistence, which is specified in a minimum of three, and the risk factors of each territory, four risk levels are determined:
- Level 0 (green), of absence of risk.
- Level 1 (yellow), of low risk.
- Level 2 (orange), of medium risk.
- Level 3 (red), of high risk.
The General Directorate of Public Health, which coordinates this prevention plan in the Canary Islands since 2004, has established an epidemiological surveillance system of the impact of high temperatures on the health of the population, coordinated with the care and emergency centers of the Canary Islands, as well as the warning to these centers and the affected municipalities of the forecast of alert situations.
Likewise, Public Health provides information to the media aimed at providing useful advice and practical measures to prevent the effects of exposure to high temperatures.
Decalogue of recommendations
Vulnerability to high temperatures includes personal risk factors, such as being over 65 years of age, infants, pregnant women, etc., environmental, local and work-related, among others. The recommendations addressed to the vulnerable population especially are:
- Stay as long as possible in cool, shady or air-conditioned places, and cool off whenever needed.
- Reduce physical activity and avoid playing sports outdoors during the central hours of the day.
- Drink water or liquids frequently, even if you are not thirsty and regardless of the physical activity you are doing.
- Avoid drinks with caffeine, alcohol or very sugary, as they can promote dehydration.
- Pay special attention to: babies, children, pregnant or lactating women, as well as the elderly or people with diseases that may be aggravated by heat (such as heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, cancer, pathologies that make mobility difficult, dementia and other mental illnesses, as well as drug or alcohol abuse). Although anyone can suffer a problem related to heat.
- Wear light, loose-fitting clothing that allows perspiration.
- Do not leave anyone in a parked and closed vehicle (especially minors, the elderly or people with chronic diseases).
- Consult a health professional for symptoms that last more than an hour and that may be related to high temperatures.
- Eat light meals that help replenish the salts lost through sweat (salads, fruits, vegetables, juices, etc.).
- Keep medicines in a cool place; heat can alter their composition and effects.
Other preventive plans in the Canary Islands
In the event of a forecast of high temperatures, the Government of the Canary Islands may activate this Plan for the Prevention of Excess Temperatures on People's Health, with health risk warnings, as well as other plans, such as the Specific Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Care for Risks due to Adverse Weather Phenomena (PEFMA), through the declaration of alert for a situation of risk for the population, property and the environment.
