It is expected to be at least 33 degrees for several days in a row in parts of Blekinge, Kalmar and Kronoberg counties. An orange warning from SMHI is in effect from Thursday afternoon until Monday evening. From Saturday, parts of Skåne are also included until Sunday evening.
There is also a yellow warning for large parts of Götaland from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. Elsewhere in the country, including Gotland, it is also expected to be unusually hot.
The body's way of cooling itself is to sweat, and to avoid dehydration, it is important to drink more fluids. It is especially important for older people to keep track of how much they drink, as their ability to feel thirst decreases with age. The biological explanation is that the fluid content in the body decreases with age.
This means that an older person who perceives themselves as relatively healthy may overestimate their ability to tolerate heat, says Sölve Elmståhl.
Own fluid replacement
Sölve Elmståhl recommends that older people keep a couple of liters of liquid in the refrigerator and try to drink at least one liter in the morning and another liter in the afternoon – preferably even more if it is 30 degrees in the shade.
When the body sweats a lot, it loses salts and those who do not compensate for this risk suffering from heat collapse, or "heatstroke." But you do not need to buy expensive sports drinks or fluid replacements; Sölve Elmståhl advises mixing your own.
The basic recipe is one liter of water, six teaspoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt.
High humidity also makes it harder for the body to cool down because sweat doesn't evaporate. So it's best to go inside and cool off with a table fan or a wet towel if you start to feel tired and lethargic.
But some older people don't even notice that it's getting a little too hot.
Some may develop confusion, and therefore relatives should be vigilant.
Avoid gardening
Another trick is to take a shower. Contrary to what many people may think, the water should not be ice cold. Sölve Elmståhl says it is more effective to shower in "lukewarm" water that maintains a temperature between 15 and 18 degrees.
It puts less strain on the body. If you get ice-cold water on your body, your blood vessels will close, like when you freeze, and that's not what you want. You want the blood to circulate to the skin and the liquid to evaporate.
Gardening and long walks are not something an older person should do when it's at its hottest, Elmståhl says.
The most important piece of advice is obvious: Avoid the sun. That is, avoid heavy heat exposure.
High temperatures can cause everything from mild symptoms such as dehydration and decreased general condition, to heatstroke and death.
To cool the blood, the heart rate increases, which puts strain on the heart. Increased sweating leads to loss of fluid and salts, which causes the blood to become more concentrated and increases the risk of blood clots.
Research also shows that high temperatures can have effects in the form of increased mood swings, aggression, crime and addiction.
Source: Swedish Public Health Agency, European Climate and Health Observatory.
