The Health Ministry has advised school authorities to exercise caution at sport meets and outdoor events held these days owing to the hot and humid weather now.The Health and Indigenous Medicine Ministry has laid down several instructions to the Education Ministry to follow during school events held. School authorities have been advised to take precautionary measures to protect students

from heat related complications. Under these precautionary measures students are advised to drink plenty of water and to wear a cap to protect from direct sunlight when outside of class rooms, or use an umbrella when going out, apply water on face and limbs when exposed to excessive heat,desist from exercises from 11am to 3.30 pm outdoors.

School authorities have been requested to provide enough drinking water facilities for students, make ready first-aid units in schools and advice students and teachers about heat strokes and precautionary measures.Students may suffer from tension and muscle cramps while several chronic diseases may come up such as heart or lung diseases and they may become unconscious due to the high temperature, the Ministry warned.

Asked if this could mean that Colombo and some parts of the country are likely to experience any extreme events that may be hazardous to health, Karunanayaka said, “The public may take care, but there is no heat duration index as such to give rise to any heat wave warnings.”

“There is certainly a rise in temperature, but the heat index has not reached that level where we must give any warnings about heat waves,” he explained.Colombo, Ratnapura and Kurunegala have recorded above-average temperatures, but they have not met the criteria that compel the Department to issue any warnings of heat waves, a Met Department Duty Officer said when asked about the situation.

Director General Karunanayaka said, the good news is that although the country is destined to experience hot weather during February and March, there will be a change in weather in the next few days (today and tomorrow), as there will be rains in the eastern and Uva provinces and in the Matale district.“There’s going to be heat, but there’s not going to be a weather like that in India where there’s heat winds that affect public health,” he said.