If you're feeling hot...

...you're not alone.

昨天2月最热：35度温度会持续热下去

热！热！热！

本地昨天热气冲天，高达35摄氏度，是今年2月份最热的一天。

不少读者拨打新明日报热线，表示连日几天的天气酷热，其中陈先生表示，今早起来时，闻到一股浓浓的烧焦味，以为家中有物品着火，结果发现是烟雾又回来了。

有媒体报道，泰国烧芭引发气温攀升，当地更有不少人出现眼睛不适的情况。

根据国家环境局网站资料显示，本地接下来3天的天气预测，温度介于26摄氏度到33摄氏度。截至昨天下午4时，本地24小时空气污染指数为42点，比起前天的47点下降了5点，仍未越过50点的适中水平警戒线。

本地空气污染指数曾在1月20日达到50点，此后一直在20多到40点之间浮动。

据报道，本区域2月到3月初期间属于干旱期，刮的是东北季候风。据国家环境局发言人受询时指出，在这段时期内，降雨量会有所下降，所以本地与本区域的林火，都可能为空气中增添些烧焦的味道，也可能会造成能见度降低，过去几天的空气污染指数虽然稍微有上升，但还是处于适当的水平。当局还在调查这次烟雾的来源。

另外，发言人也透露，昨天下午出现本月气温最高的一天，摄氏高达35度，并相信接下来的几个星期，天气还是会持续热下去。

From: http://news.omy.sg/News/Local%2BNews/Story/OMYStory201002251455-131030.html

I guess we've to bear with such weather for the next few weeks.

For your information, this is not the highest temperature Singapore has reached. The highest recorded is 36.0°C on March 26 1998. I wonder if anyone remembers how this astonishing record made the news at that time. The lowest temperature is 19.4°C on January 31 1934. That's so long ago! With global warming, I don't think this lowest record can be ever broken anymore.

A small difference in temperature, even by 1°C, can cause significant changes in our environment. Biological creatures on Earth, be it human, animals, bacteria or other microorganisms, are extremely sensitive to temperature. For example if our body temperature is 1°C above normal, our digestive system will start to break down. That's why we'll lose our appetite when we're having fever.

The following explains the effects of abnormal temperature on human body (from Wikipedia):

Hot

* 37 °C - Normal body temperature (which varies between about 36.12–37.5 °C)

* 38 °C - Sweating, feeling very uncomfortable, slightly hungry.

* 39 °C - Severe sweating, flushed and very red. Fast heart rate and breathlessness. There may be exhaustion accompanying this. Children and people with epilepsy may be very likely to get convulsions at this point.

* 40 °C - Fainting, dehydration, weakness, vomiting, headache and dizziness may occur as well as profuse sweating. Starts to be life- threatening.

* 41 °C - (Medical emergency) - Fainting, vomiting, severe headache, dizziness, confusion, hallucinations, delirium and drowsiness can occur. There may also be palpitations and breathlessness.

* 42 °C - Subject may turn pale or remain flushed and red. They may become comatose, be in severe delirium, vomiting, and convulsions can occur. Blood pressure may be high or low and heart rate will be very fast.

* 43 °C - Normally death, or there may be serious brain damage, continuous convulsions and shock. Cardio-respiratory collapse will likely occur.

* 44 °C or more - Almost certainly death will occur; however, patients have been known to survive up to 46.5 °C.

Cold

* 37 °C - Normal body temperature (which varies between about 36–37.5 °C

* 36 °C - Mild to moderate shivering (it drops this low during sleep). May be a normal body temperature.

* 35 °C - (Hypothermia) is less than 35 °C - Intense shivering, numbness and bluish/grayness of the skin. There is the possibility of heart irritability.

* 34 °C - Severe shivering, loss of movement of fingers, blueness and confusion. Some behavioural changes may take place.

* 33 °C - Moderate to severe confusion, sleepiness, depressed reflexes, progressive loss of shivering, slow heart beat, shallow breathing. Shivering may stop. Subject may be unresponsive to certain stimuli.

* 32 °C - (Medical emergency) Hallucinations, delirium, complete confusion, extreme sleepiness that is progressively becoming comatose. Shivering is absent (subject may even think they are hot). Reflex may be absent or very slight.

* 31 °C - Comatose, very rarely conscious. No or slight reflexes. Very shallow breathing and slow heart rate. Possibility of serious heart rhythm problems.

* 28 °C - Severe heart rhythm disturbances are likely and breathing may stop at any time. Patient may appear to be dead.

* 24–26 °C or less - Death usually occurs due to irregular heart beat or respiratory arrest; however, some patients have been known to survive with body temperatures as low as 14.2 °C.

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For the next few weeks, drink more water and wear light. Most importantly, stay cool and calm!