It's the humidity that gets you. Here's why — and tips for dealing with muggy days

Large swaths of nan U.S. will acquisition aggravated power and humidity successful nan coming days. Ross D. Franklin/AP hide caption

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Ross D. Franklin/AP

It's not nan power that gets you — it's nan humidity.

Millions will consciousness that firsthand complete nan coming days arsenic a power dome is expected to bring utmost power and humidity for overmuch of nan U.S.

Those humid conditions will make temperatures consciousness moreover hotter and airs wellness risks to many.

Why is that?

Sheetal Rao, soul medicine expert astatine nan University of Illinois Health pinch a attraction connected really nan situation affects health, told Morning Edition that precocious levels of humidity simply make it consciousness hotter — and situation our body's mechanisms to modulate temperature.

Here's what she had to opportunity astir humidity and really to enactment cool:

Why humidity poses risks during utmost heat

One of nan quality body's main ways of cooling down is sweating, and that sweat evaporating disconnected nan body. When it's humid, sometimes that isn't enough, Rao said.

"When nan aerial is truthful afloat of moisture, that evaporation doesn't hap arsenic efficiently aliases effectively, and truthful we aren't capable to cool down arsenic well," Rao said.

Rao said precocious humidity poses nan strongest consequence to seniors and young children, arsenic good arsenic pregnant women.

But it tin besides travel down to nan exertion level of outdoor activity.

"So moreover a regular, patient personification who is retired moving very difficult successful nan power and humidity would beryllium vulnerable," Rao said. "And then, of course, group who are outdoors much for their occupation aliases group who are unhoused and past definite medications arsenic good tin make group much vulnerable."

How tin you enactment safe during humid days?

While immoderate group whitethorn initially consciousness that sitting by a instrumentality alleviates nan worst of nan heat, Rao said that mightiness not beryllium capable connected humid days. That's because nan sweat connected one's assemblage doesn't person immoderate spot to evaporate disconnected nan tegument because nan aerial is already truthful afloat of h2o vapor.

"The instrumentality benignant of conscionable cycles nan aforesaid aerial astir and it won't efficaciously cool group erstwhile it's very basking and humid," Rao added.

If you don't person aerial conditioning, Rao recommends getting immoderate rest, taking regular breaks, closing blinds to cool down your home, hydrating and wearing loose-fitting clothes.

"But astatine immoderate constituent erstwhile it gets very hot, aerial conditioning is apt nan only involution that's going to thief you consciousness cool," Rao said. "And truthful location are places that group tin spell to get cool, for illustration cooling centers, but besides conscionable nationalist buildings for illustration libraries and malls and things for illustration that."

The integer type of this communicative was adapted for nan web by Obed Manuel and edited by Suzanne Nuyen.