In an emergency situation, an important consideration is maintaining body temperature, particularly in extreme climates. Our bodies lose heat through 4 main ways: radiation (heat escaping/ moving into our bodies without direct contact with anything else), convection (air moving around our bodies), conduction (loss of heat through contact with other things such as the ground) and evaporation (loss of heat through water drying on our skin through sweat). Understanding how these 4 methods can affect us in the outdoors can be vital for our survival. For more detail on this and strategies to maintain body temperature, click on the following link from the Bushwalking Manual.
Your first layer of protection from extremes in temperature and other hazards is your clothing. It needs to protect you from the elements and other issues such as cuts and scratches from plants or rocks, which if left untreated can lead to infection.
Generally speaking, in hot climates wear loose fitting cottons and in cold climates wear loose and layered wools and synthetic garments. Clothing plays an important role in injury prevention and should be worn to offer as complete a cover as possible. Clothing should always include long trousers, long sleeves, head covering, socks and boots, warm inner and protective outer layers.
A useful acronym to remember for colder environments is COLDER (courtesy of Bushcraft Survival Australia)
- Clean – to maintain thermal efficiency
- Overheating – to be avoided. Adjust clothing to minimise sweating
- Loose and Layered – maintains airflow or retains heat
- Dry – to maintain thermal efficiency
- Examine – to ensure wear and tear is minimised
- Repair – as required to maintain serviceability and protection
After clothing has been sorted, other considerations that need to be taken into account are shelter and fire.
A good shelter will allow for protection against the elements, enabling body temperature to remain steady. For more info on building shelter, click here.
Fire is also very useful to manage body temperature. In cold climates, it can provide warmth, light and a way to prepare food. In hot conditions, fire can be effective to help boil water, deter insects, mosquitoes and other animals that may pose an issue. It also provides a source of morale. For more information on lighting fires in emergency situations, click here.
