How to survive in extreme heat while in the wild

Most people love the sunshine, giving them an excuse to spend a day at the beach or take a stroll through the countryside, but when you’re in a situation where a river of sweat is running down the middle of your back, it’s not quite as fun. Learning how to survive in extreme heat while in the wild can be tricky, because if you’re out in the open then you can’t escape the sun’s heat, but there are a few things that you can do to make yourself more comfortable.

Wear a hat

Simple as it sounds, wearing a hat could actually save your life in the most extreme conditions. Not only does it stop the sun from directly heating your head and neck, but it also traps in sweat which causes you to lose moisture at a slightly slower rate, but over a great enough distance this can make a huge difference.

Rest in wet clothing

If you have enough water available, wearing a wet T-shirt while you are resting will cause you to cool down much faster. It won’t be comfortable to move in and will cause rub marks if you try to move too far in wet clothes, but sitting in the shade in something wet will greatly speed up the cooling process.

Drink more than you need

You should always bring more water than you think you’ll need on the journey, and you should always make an effort to drink from it on a regular basis instead of guzzling half a bottle every time you stop. The extra water in your system can stop you from getting headaches under the sun and will make your overall experience much more tolerable.

Travel at night

If you’re stuck in a large area of extreme heat, such as a desert, the amount of water you’ll need during the day in order to travel anywhere meaningful will be more than you’d be able to carry on foot. Some deserts can easily reach 40 °C during the day, which is far too hot to go anywhere far on foot, but nighttime temperatures can drop as low as -4 °C. This may sound extremely cold, and it is, but after you get going and start to warm up, you’ll be much more comfortable in -4 °C than in 40 °C.

(Clothing like this may look like it’ll make you warmer, but there’s a reason people who live in the heat dress in this manner)

Cover your skin

If you look at people from Western countries who go to hot places, they always seem to dress like they are at the beach, with shorts and a skimpy top to let the air keep them cool. People who live in these countries take the complete opposite approach to their clothing and look like they could easily overheat. Wearing layers of long clothing and thick fabric-wrap hats, they look as if they would be far too hot to wear, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. The thick hats keep the moisture in and protect the head and neck, and the outer layers of thin fabrics block the sun, while the inner layers allow air to circulate and keep the moisture in. The closet you can get to this in a normal setting would be the wear something that covers your arms and more importantly, your neck.

Wear a soggy hat

One of the most extreme versions of the wet hat method is to urinate on a piece of clothing and tie it around your head. Fresh water on a hat is better but in a life-or-death situation, urine might be the only thing available. The extra moisture around your head not only stops you from losing as much water but also makes the headpiece thick enough to absorb most of the sun’s heat, which stops it from reaching your skin.

Don’t smoke, talk or eat anything dry

Foods that have been salted, dried, or contain things like bread that draw extra moisture from your body into your stomach to digest them will cause you to become thirsty. This is even more important when the heat presents a threat to your life, as every drop of water should be considered important. Avoiding talking and smoking are ones for extreme environments as they only cause you to lose a tiny bit of water over a long period, but when you’re desperate enough it’s worth avoiding.

Avoid doing anything strenuous

You can lose up to 6 times as much water through sweat when doing something physical in 35 °C than you would in 10 °C. If you don’t have to do it then simply don’t, the extra heat you gain from a physical activity will take hours to dissipate back to normal.

Cool your core temperature

One of the things I love doing when on a long walk in hot weather is to take a quick dip in the sea or a quiet river corner. There’s nothing nicer than peeling off your sweat-drenched clothes and walking into water cold enough to take your breath away. Sitting in cool water for 10 minutes will keep you cool for quite a while after you’ve dried off.