Whilst most of us come home to a heater or fire place, many of the Cities residence are left out in the cold and wet to fight off the chill of winter. The real threat of hypothermia is ever present and can be compounded by wet conditions and wind chill factors due to the progression of cold fronts across the Cape peninsula.
Cold fronts create our wet and cold winter weather
A cold front may be defined as the leading edge of a cooler mass of air, replacing a warmer mass of air at ground level, lying within a fairly sharp surface trough of low pressure. Within this weather system, the cooler (and thus more dense) air wedges beneath the less dense warmer air, lifting it. This upward motion of warmer air causes a lowered pressure along the cold front which may result in showers when enough moisture is present.
A cold front may move faster than a warm front, and thus would be likely to produce more rapid changes in weather. As the cold air is denser than warm air, the warm is rapidly replaced by cold air at the proceeding "front". They commonly bring a narrow band of precipitation, following along the edge of the cold front, bringing rain along with the cool temperatures.
- D. Roth. Unified Surface Analysis Manual. Hydrometeorological Prediction Centre. 2006
The cold and hypothermia
Hypothermia may be defined as a core (internal) body temperature of less than 35 C. The normal body temperature ranges between 36.6 to 37.7 C, which ensure adequate functioning of body systems. When temperature values fall bellow the normal range, and hypothermia begins to take hold, body systems such as the cardiovascular and respiratory system may begin to malfunction.
The body may lose heat through various mechanisms, including:
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Prevention and treatment hypothermia: Those individuals at high risk of presenting with hypothermia include the sick, the frail, the poor and people with disability. Preventing hypothermia may be achieved through the following actions:
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If someone is hypothermic, how can I help? Always remember to RESTORE WARMTH SLOWLY.
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- The Backpacker's Field Manual, Rick Curtis, Random House, New York, 2005
- Kees H Polderman. .Mechanisms of action, physiological effects, and complications of hypothermia. Crit Care Med 2009
- Kees H Polderman. .Mechanisms of action, physiological effects, and complications of hypothermia. Crit Care Med 2009
An Injury and Prevention Awareness Project brought to you by Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital Trauma & Emergency Centre.