I own a workshop, or call it an office, for my business, and I have a policy of not going topless in the space, no matter what, because people can walk in at any time, and it wouldn't make sense for someone to meet me topless. This is also considering how light my skin is. However, a few weeks ago, I couldn't bear the intensity of the wave of heat that hit us, and I began going topless whenever the sun was hot and burning.
Some weeks ago, the environment was so hot, as if the window of hell had been opened and the heat from there was sneaking onto the earth. I would wash clothes, and before I knew it, they would be dry. I was so happy to see clothes drying within a few hours, which made my work very easy.
How have I been coping?
Although I experience catarrh a lot, I still prefer cold weather to the hot weather we are currently experiencing. Whenever I step out under the sun these days, my body feels as though it is burning, and my light skin is rapidly turning dark.
Using a face cap:
I'm not really a fan of face caps because I love it when air touches my hair. However, whenever the weather is hot, I don't like walking under the burning sun without wearing a face cap. I'm fair in complexion, and the high intensity of the sunlight affects my sight easily, so wearing a face cap helps reduce the harsh impact of the sun on my eyes.
In case you're wondering whether I'm an albino because the sun affects me so easily, no, I'm not. I'm just the light-skinned type who gets affected by intense sunlight.
Apart from shielding my eyes, wearing a face cap also helps reduce the direct impact of the sun on my head.
I drink a lot of water:
Even before this period of intense heat, regular water intake was something I never joked with. The craziest thing is that I buy bags of sachet water, and I drink from them just as freely as we used to drink water directly from the borehole in the compound back in my hometown.
Drinking sachet water has been costing me a lot, but I don't mind because staying hydrated is one of the major ways of combating the excessive heat we are experiencing this season.
I sleep with a fan:
Unfortunately, in my part of Nigeria, we don't enjoy a steady electricity supply, so it's very difficult to keep our homes cool by depending on public electricity. This has made many households resort to installing solar systems to generate electricity and power their homes.
I have a solar-powered fan, and it has been saving me a lot during this period of intense heat. I make sure I charge it during the day, and it serves me throughout the night until around 3 or 4 a.m., helping to keep my room cool.