By : Putri Dewi Nathania )*
The importance of continuing to increase immunity or endurance for all people in Indonesia. This is one of the efforts to continue to be aware of ourselves in dealing with the impacts of climate change which makes the weather extreme and completely erratic as it is today.
Indeed, at this time, it can be said that extreme weather has occurred, which is sometimes very hot, but sometimes it is interspersed with rain and even occurs alternately. Of course, all of these extreme weather are beyond normal limits due to climate change.
The existence of extreme weather which continues to change significantly and is already outside the normal limits, also affects the health of the community, especially for children and also the elderly (elderly) who will be more vulnerable when compared to adults in general.
Regarding the extreme weather, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in a statement said that in a number of regions in the country, such as the Province of South Sulawesi (Sulsel) it will still be hit by hot weather with the peak predicted to start in June. until September 2023.
In several regions in Indonesia, in the last few weeks, it has been continuously hit by hot weather that feels very stinging, especially during the day. Thus, it is not uncommon for people to hear complaints about how hot the weather is in some of these areas.
In fact, not infrequently, because the weather is so hot the people feel very stingy, making outdoor activities even more uncomfortable. Also included, sometimes even at night, the effects of heat can still be felt so that it often makes people feel hot and sweaty.
Regarding the impact that will occur due to extreme weather, the General Chairperson (Ketum) of the Indonesian Pediatrician Association, Pimprim Basarah Yanuarso revealed that climate change can trigger various kinds of bad impacts, especially for children as one of the most vulnerable groups, especially will affect children aged 0 to 18 years.
Meanwhile, the world health organization, the World Health Organization (WHO) in a release also explained that there are at least 3 (three) main points from the impact of climate change, namely the direct impact on health through changes in ecosystems and also patterns of human behavior and one another point is that it will have an impact on health as a result of natural disasters that have the potential to occur related to climate change.
In connection with this warning from WHO, the Mayor of Makassar, Muh Ramdhan Pomanto appealed to all people to continue to increase their self-awareness by reducing outdoor activities as much as possible, especially during the day.
Reducing outdoor activities as an effort to be vigilant in dealing with the impacts of climate change, especially considering that Indonesia itself is a tropical area.
Moreover, when for example the body and skin are directly exposed to hot weather, physiologically it will also have the potential to cause vasodilation in the blood vessels in the skin as an effort for the body’s mechanism to dissipate heat. The existence of thermoregulation is regulated by the central nervous system in the hypothalamus and bone marrow and regulated by the peripheral nervous system in the skin and organs.
Furthermore, when discussing the existence of disease manifestations as a result of the varying heat, it will start from the presence of mild to severe symptoms. Some mild symptoms include heat edema, heat rash, heat crumps and also heat syncope.
As for the severe symptoms, such as heat stroke which can even be life threatening. Then, other self-care efforts that can be carried out in the presence of extreme heat, so that people don’t become dehydrated, therefore, it is indeed very important to provide sufficient fluids for the body.
Head of BMKG Samarinda, Riza Arian Noor said that currently the weather conditions are indeed unstable. In fact, usually in the morning there is sweltering heat, but when the afternoon becomes dark and rains heavily. All of these weather changes and instability are one of the effects of the transition from the rainy season to the dry season.
His party continues to appeal to the public to also be able to maintain and increase their immunity or their body’s resistance, because, if their physical condition is not fit, they will usually be vulnerable and susceptible to disease. Not only that, but the public is also advised to remain vigilant with other impacts such as floods, landslides and strong winds as part of a series of climate changes. With this vigilance, it is hoped that bad things can be avoided.
)* The author is a contributor to the Perkasa Media Institute
