It's hot!
Hot temperatures and high humidity make working in the heat not only miserable, but dangerous, too.
Drinking plenty of water is one way to avoid dehydration and heat stress.
- Start your work day well hydrated.
- Maintain hydration by regularly drinking water to keep pace with sweat loss.
- To improve hydration, drink fluids at a faster rate than they are being lost through sweating and other means.
- Workers exposed to heat stress need to drink between 20 ounces and one liter of water per hour.
- Manual workers need about one liter of plain cool water per hour (supplemented by frequent meal breaks). Machinery operators need 20 ounces of water per hour.
- Avoid caffeinated drinks.
- Whenever possible, schedule outdoor jobs in the coolest part of the day.
- Monitor your physical condition.
