Extreme heat and heatstroke
Keep people cool through a heatwave and know the signs that make heatstroke a medical emergency.
Critical caution: Heatstroke is a medical emergency. Call the emergency number, start cooling immediately, and do not give fever medicines—they do not lower temperature in heatstroke.
- Time
- Ongoing in a heatwave
- Difficulty
- Low
- Outcome
- Prevent heat illness and respond fast to heatstroke
Survival lens: Heat is a slow emergency that becomes a fast one. The survival priority is to protect body temperature early, rather than to push through the day.
Before you begin
- Identify the coolest room, or a cool public place if power fails
- Check who in your household or street is at higher risk
- Have water, a spray bottle, damp cloths and a way to shade windows
What you need
- Drinking water
- Spray bottle and damp cloths
- Fan (battery fans if power may fail)
- Window shading
- Ice packs or cold water
- Thermometer
Step-by-step procedure
- Plan the day around the heat. Shift physical work to early morning or evening. Stay in the coolest part of the house, close curtains on sun-facing windows, and use cooler public places if power fails.
- Drink and dress for heat. Drink water regularly, even before you feel thirsty. Wear loose, light-coloured clothing. Avoid alcohol and heavy meals. People with fluid restrictions should ask their doctor what to do in heat.
- Check on people at higher risk. Older adults, babies and young children, pregnant people, people with heart, kidney or mental illness, and people who live alone are at higher risk. Check them at least twice a day.
- Spot heatstroke. Signs include a body temperature of 40°C or more, red, hot or dry skin, confusion, strange or aggressive behaviour, poor coordination, seizures or loss of consciousness.
- Call for help and cool fast. Call the emergency number. Move the person to shade, remove extra clothing, and cool them quickly: cold water immersion from the neck down, or a cool shower or hose, ice packs to the groin, armpits, cheeks, palms and soles, and wet skin with continuous fanning.
- Support and monitor. Give cool drinks only if they are fully conscious and can swallow. If they stop breathing normally, start CPR.
How to check it is working
- Everyone has water within reach
- High-risk people have been checked today
- There is a cool place to go if power fails
- Everyone knows the heatstroke warning signs
Common mistakes
- Leaving children or animals in vehicles
- Working through the hottest part of the day
- Giving paracetamol or aspirin for heatstroke
- Assuming a fan alone is enough in extreme heat
Sources and further reading
- healthdirect: Heatstroke
- healthdirect: How to handle the heatwave
- HealthyWA: Health impacts of heatwaves
How this guide was checked
Official-source aligned: Aligned with healthdirect and WA Health heat-illness guidance
Independent specialist review: not yet completed. How review works.
Last updated: Nov 2026 · edition 1.0.
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