The cooling shelter in Ilha Verde opened its doors 15 minutes after the first yellow hot weather alert was issued at 11:15 am yesterday by the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (also known by its Portuguese initials SMG).
Situated in E1 Bairro da Ilha Verde Building, at 34 Rua Leste da Ilha Verde, the cooling shelter will remain available to the public until the heat subsides, according to a statement from the Social Works Bureau.
Amid the soaring heat, the bureau has advised the public to keep a special eye on seniors who live independently, as well as those who have chronic medical conditions or frail health.
Officials have also advised a number of precautionary measures that outdoor workers can take to avoid falling victim to heat stroke, urging them to wear loose, light coloured clothing, drink plenty of liquids, to take turns completing a task and have frequent breaks in a cool place.
[See more: Macao has issued its first yellow hot weather alert of 2024]
Macao’s Education Bureau, meanwhile, issued a notice to schools, educational institutions and youth organisations to remind them to shift their outdoor activities indoors, and to be cautious if they have organised an outdoor event.
Macao is expected to face high temperatures of 33ºC or more over the next several days, according to the SMG. As of writing, the yellow hot weather alert remains in place, with the observatories in Delegação de Coloane and Ká Hó registering temperatures of 32.7ºC and 33.1ºC respectively at 12:5 pm today.
Despite the intense heat over the coming days, SMG predicts that there will be periods of rain and thunderstorms starting from next Monday.
According to the SMG, climate change has resulted in “extremely hot” days becoming “more and more frequent.”
