It's not the Heat... It's the Humidity

I think that statement should be revised to read "It's the heat AND the humidity".

Hot season is definitely in full swing and the daily temperature average is expected to continue to rise. Yesterday it was 116 degrees F in my village... in the shade. Good news is it's not terribly humid... only about 72% humidity or so.

But that doesn't stop me from sweating while doing the simplest of tasks. Sleep, sweat. Wake up, sweat. Eat breakfast, sweat more because I'm cooking inside. Run an errand across village, loose a quart. Take a nap after lunch, shake off afterward. Sometimes I think my sweat is actually sweating as well. This is all terribly taxing on my integumentary system (which contains the skin and sweat glands).

I'm guessing right now I go through at least 4 liters of water a day. This makes for a somewhat vicious cycle as well because it means I am drinking more water than I used to every day, which means more trips to the pump, which means more sweating, which means more drinking, which means more trips to the pump, etc., etc.

All this sweating also means that I need to make sure I am getting enough electrolytes. Especially if I do something physically strenuous like make a 35 km round trip to my market town or help cast several hundred concrete blocks for a new well that's being put in at the school.

I have found changing clothes throughout the day is also smart... and not simply to avoid that "soggy" feeling. Wearing damp clothing in temperatures like these is a good way to develop heat rash or other skin maladies.

While it is definitely hot, it's not unbearable. I've gotten used to things by now. If anything it's more of an annoyance. Manual laborers only work about four hours a day now because it's so hot during mid-day. This means construction projects take longer to complete, and right now I'm trying to get two wells put in before May 1st. Easier said than done I'm finding out.