Tasmanians have been praised for their efforts to stay cool during the weekend’s heatwave.
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Public Health acting director Dr Scott McKeown said overall it seemed Tasmanians took the necessary precautions to avoid succumbing to heat-related conditions.
“Anecdotally there were around a dozen people who presented to hospital with conditions likely to be due to the heat,” Dr McKeown said.
“We’re very pleased that Tasmanians heeded the alert Public Health issued last week and managed to stay safe.”
Heatwaves could have serious health consequences if individuals didn’t take the necessary precautions, he said.
RSPCA chief executive officer Dr Andrew Byrne said people still need to be vigilant to stop their pets from overheating, despite the cool change.
Dr Byrne confirmed no dogs in cars were reported to the RSPCA over the hot and humid weekend.
People usually were very vigilant about their pets when the temperature climbed past 30 degrees, he said.
However, they should remember animals could suffer heatstroke or die in cars if it wasn’t hot outside, he said.
Dogs don’t have many sweat glands so they cool down by panting and letting moisture evaporate off their tongues.
“It’s a fairly inefficient way of removing the heat.”
It was very important to allow animals to have ready access to cool water, shade and a breeze, he said.
Avoid tethering animals in the heat as it left them at the mercy of hot weather, he said.
Having a bird bath in the shade was a good way to help native wildlife to cool off, Dr Byrne said.
The RSPCA animals spent the heat either in air conditioned buildings or in dogs kennel with a sprinkler systems.
They were fine after feasting on all manner of frozen treats, he said.