Meltdown!
We’re set for our hottest month — and people are suffering
New Zealand is on track to record its hottest month since records began — and outdoor workers are struggling to cope. Even those working inside are battling in the summer heatwave, with indoor temperatures on some commercial building sites “easily” reaching the high 30s, one says.
Tauranga builder Tim Doddrell said workers often had to sweat it out indoors because commercial building owners did not like to turn on new air conditioning units while construction work was under way because of dust.
Putting water coolers and fridges on site helped morale, he said. “In the building world we have a saying called ‘ Work smarter, not harder’ . . . sometimes you can plan your day to stay ahead of the sun while working in the shade.”
Wellington builder Peter Rowe and his boss were going through a can of spray-on sunscreen between themselves every couple of days.
Rowe said 60 to 70 per cent of his work day was spent in the sun.
“The few times I’ve been sunburnt this summer it’s because we’ve quite literally run out of sunscreen by about midday, which means, you know, the last half of the day you’re exposed,” Rowe said.
Worksafe’s general manager for operations, Jo Pugh, said the heat had been “really brutal” on workers this summer, particularly those wearing “hefty protective gear” and those who were constantly in the sun.
There was no legislation in New Zealand to allow workers off once the temperatures reached a certain level, but managers had a duty to identify and deal with risks in the workplace, including heat.
Pugh said it was important workers recognised the signs of heat stress and tell a supervisor “before it becomes critical”. People needed to watch out for heatstroke, which can cause headaches, cramp, vomiting, dry mouth, and even death. Skin cancer was something to be aware of.
Preliminary data shows the country’s average temperature for the first 23 days of the month has been 19.85C — more than 2.72C higher than the current January record, set in 1909.
Waiau in North Canterbury hit a blistering 37C yesterday, the hottest temperature recorded in New Zealand in seven years.
The current record warmest month dated back almost two decades to February 1998 with an
Record numbers of beachgoers and water rescues this summer have left exhausted lifeguards “shattered”, with no end in sight as fine weather continues.
According to Surf Life Saving Northern Region (SLSNR), the number of people on Auckland, Northland and Waikato beaches at peak times is about 30,000 more than last summer. As a result, an almost 170 per cent increase in rescues has been recorded in the month of patrolling since Christmas.
Almost as great an increase has been observed in searches for people missing on the beach.
Northern Region operations manager Adam Wooler said the numbers meant volunteer patrols had worked 3000 hours more this summer than last year, and lifeguards had been left “literally shattered” after busy weekends.
Auckland Anniversary Weekend would not serve as a relief for those on duty, with SLSNR expecting more of the record beach numbers, with fine weather and large swells forecast on the west coast.
The one statistic that isn’t up for the Northern region is drownings.
“Thus far, we’ve been able to avoid any tragic outcomes on our patrolled beaches but we’ve had a great many close calls,” Wooler said.
The zero statistic in drownings could be partly because of a change to the patrolling model this season.
“We’ve been trialling an extension of patrols until 7pm at necessary locations and we think this has made a differ- ence to the outcomes,” Wooler said.
“In the past we might have expected to see more search and rescue activities happening — which usually occur after hours — but having patrols active for longer in the evening seems to have had some positive effect on that.”
Wooler said SLSNR couldn’t take all the credit, with improved behaviour by beachgoers also a factor.
“We’d like to think behaviour has improved — and at many beaches we are seeing much more sensible actions by swimmers. There is always room for improvement, though, and the high number of rescues still indicate some poor beachgoer behaviours.”
The new patrol model, which is being trialled at the Auckland beaches, is likely to be extended to Northland and Waikato beaches next summer.
The model arose from studies into coastal beach safety around Auckland by SLSNZ researcher Nick Mulcahy.
“Nick’s research identified that the early evening period was a time when incidents tended to happen and it made sense for lifeguards to be there at that time, so we have reconfigured our service to align with that,” Wooler said.
The 7pm patrolling cut-off will continue on many of the SLSNR beaches until Waitangi Day, then move to 6pm for the rest of the patrol season.