Skip to content Skip to navigation
MENU
COTA Victoria Logo
Login
Get Involved
Home CLOSE
MENU
  • About
    About
    CLOSE MENU
    • Annual reports and financial statements
    • Staff
    • Board of Governance
    • Contact Us
    • Work with us
      • Current Job Opportunities
    • Our supporters
    • COTA Victoria Privacy Statement
  • Policy
    Policy
    CLOSE MENU
    • Our policy priorities
    • Policy positions
    • Stories of Change
    • Policy Development Committee (PDC)
    • Aged Care
      • Telling your story
    • Assistive Technology for All
    • Ageism in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic
    • Elder Abuse | Seniors Rights Victoria
    • Social Isolation
    • Submissions
    • Publications
    • End of life
    • COTA Green Sages
    Priorities for older Victorians: Submission for the Victorian State Budget 2023-24
    COTA Victoria's Strategic Plan 2023-2025
  • Information
    Information
    CLOSE MENU
    • Looking for information?
    • COVID-19 resources for older Victorians
    • COTA WISE services
    • How-to guides
    • It’s Your Energy - New Energy Rights for Victorians
    • Resources
  • News
    News
    CLOSE MENU
    • Latest News
    • Media
      • Media Releases
    • COTA Connects
      • COTA Connects Archive
      • Sign-up for e-Newsletter
    • ONE COTA magazine
  • Events
  • Our Programs
    Our Programs
    CLOSE MENU
    • Older Men: New Ideas (OM:NI) men’s discussion groups
    • Care Finders
    • Employment Support
      • Women Working Together
      • Locals Working Together
    • Living Longer Living Stronger
      • Find a Living Longer Living Stronger program in your area
      • Living Longer Living Stronger Online
      • Exercising at home
        • Random Acts of Exercise
      • Living Longer Living Stronger providers and instructors
    • Victorian Seniors Festival
    • COTA Cycling
  • About
  • Policy
  • Information
  • News
  • Events
  • Our Programs
  • Login
About
  • Annual reports and financial statements
  • Staff
  • Board of Governance
  • Contact Us
  • Work with us
  • Our supporters
  • COTA Victoria Privacy Statement
Work with us
  • Current Job Opportunities
Policy
  • Our policy priorities
  • Policy positions
  • Stories of Change
  • Policy Development Committee (PDC)
  • Aged Care
  • Assistive Technology for All
  • Ageism in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Elder Abuse | Seniors Rights Victoria
  • Social Isolation
  • Submissions
  • Publications
  • End of life
  • COTA Green Sages
Aged Care
  • Telling your story
Information
  • Looking for information?
  • COVID-19 resources for older Victorians
  • COTA WISE services
  • How-to guides
  • It’s Your Energy - New Energy Rights for Victorians
  • Resources
News
  • Latest News
  • Media
  • COTA Connects
  • ONE COTA magazine
Media
  • Media Releases
COTA Connects
  • COTA Connects Archive
  • Sign-up for e-Newsletter
Our Programs
  • Older Men: New Ideas (OM:NI) men’s discussion groups
  • Care Finders
  • Employment Support
  • Living Longer Living Stronger
  • Victorian Seniors Festival
  • COTA Cycling
Employment Support
  • Women Working Together
  • Locals Working Together
Living Longer Living Stronger
  • Find a Living Longer Living Stronger program in your area
  • Living Longer Living Stronger Online
  • Exercising at home
  • Living Longer Living Stronger providers and instructors
Exercising at home
  • Random Acts of Exercise

‘Plan it cool’ this summer

16 December 201903/05/2021
Environment, Health and Wellbeing, Information
‘Plan it cool’ this summer preview image

A typical summer in Victoria means hot weather and a higher fire danger. This summer is likely to be even hotter and drier than usual and – as we’ve seen in NSW and Queensland – perfect bushfire weather.

Older people are at a higher risk of heat stress, brought about by extreme heat and power blackouts. With a larger percentage of people over 50 living in rural Victoria, many older residents are at risk of bushfires too. Stay safe this summer by planning ahead.

Hot weather

Extreme heat can affect anyone, but older people, especially those living alone and those with medical conditions, are most at risk.

COTA Victoria’s new campaign, ‘Plan it Cool on Hot Days’, aims to reduce the risk of heat stress in older people. Heat stress occurs when our bodies can’t cool themselves down enough to stay at a healthy temperature. It can lead to heat-related illnesses such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heatstroke. Heatstroke is a medical emergency and needs to be treated urgently. Find out more about the symptoms and treatments for heat-related illness.

If you have an existing medical condition, heat stress can worsen it. Some medications can affect the way your body reacts to heat too. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist to find out if you need to take any extra measures.

‘Plan it cool’ this summer by taking some sensible precautions to prevent heat stress in yourself and people you know:

  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Stay somewhere cool. Read about your energy rights and energy concessions if you struggle with the cost of keeping your home cool on hot days.
  • Plan ahead by checking the weather, local news and heat health alerts.
  • Stay in contact with friends, family and neighbours, especially if you (or they) are living alone.

Read more tips about how to ‘plan it cool’ this summer.

Bushfires

If you live in an at-risk area, you need to have an emergency plan in place for bushfires. At-risk areas include properties near forest, bush or grassland, or the coast. It can be difficult to think clearly during an emergency, so it is important to make plans in advance. CFA has a Fire Ready Kit to help you make your bushfire plan and prepare for the season.

Don’t forget your four-legged friends in your emergency plans either. Follow the RSPCA’s Three Steps to your Pet Emergency Plan.

Managing your medications can be tricky on an ordinary day. During a bushfire or other emergency, you may run out or be unable to access your usual supply. Read more about how to prepare and manage your medications on The Conversation.

Stay up to date with warnings and alerts in your area. CFA provides a list of incidents; you can also listen to local radio and news, or call the VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226.

 

plan it cool

RELATED NEWS

A new link between trusted health services and aged care services preview image

A new link between trusted health services and aged care services

20 March 2023
Read more
Read more
Information and education to plan for your future preview image

Information and education to plan for your future

17 March 2023
Read more
Read more
COTA Victoria responds to sharp rise in power bills preview image

COTA Victoria responds to sharp rise in power bills

16 March 2023
Read more
Read more
SHARE THIS CONTENT:
COTA Victoria Logo
  • About
  • Policy
  • Information
  • News
  • Events
  • Our Programs
Seniors Rights Victoria Registered Charity
Follow on
Facebook
COTA FEDERATION
  • ACT
  • New South Wales
  • Northern Territory
  • Queensland
  • South Australia
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia
COTA Western Australia COTA Northern Territory COTA Queensland COTA New South Wales COTA ACT COTA Victoria COTA South Australia COTA Tasmania
Follow on
Twitter
GET INVOLVED
  • Seniors Rights Victoria
  • COTA Connects newsletter
  • Get Involved
  • COTA Insurance
  • Follow on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Follow on LinkedIn
  • Follow on Instagram
  • Contact Us
Seniors Rights Victoria
TERMS PRIVACY CONTACT SITEMAP
© 2023 COTA Victoria ABN 81 960 500 420 WEB DESIGN CODE AND VISUAL
Back to top
All correspondence may also be collected and stored, particularly in regard to registrations, including Email. Any information collected by COTA Victoria is collected via correspondence from you or your organisation. This may be via the telephone, Email, mail, fax or directly through our website.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT