Moving To Northern Territory. How To Cope With The Heat?

by Michelle
(Melbourne)

I am facing moving to the Northern Territory with my partner and I am apprehensive about the heat. Can you let me know how you cope.

Thanks, Michelle
PS: Your site has aroused in me a genuine interest and excitment about the up-coming move.

Moving To Northern Territory Response

Hi Michelle.

Heat? What heat? It's freezing! (Serious. 12 °C last night.)

Basically, you do get used to it. I remember how I asked a friend in Germany about the temperatures in northern Australia around Sep/Oct (when I was about to leave for my first trip to Australia). His answer was, "Not too bad at that time, only 35 to 40°C or so." My jaw dropped. For me that was unimaginable.

Now I experience 12°C as freezing. I put on a jumper and long pants when the day temperatures drop below 30°C. We had below 25°C days over the last couple of months and I've been wearing three layers and was still cold. No kidding.

The body adapts. The blood kind of thins, the body learns to sweat more efficiently. Sweat is just water (don't forget to refill, i.e. drink enough). It's not the greasy kind of sweat that you may imagine. And somehow you just get used to it.

What I find really interesting is that the switch in the other direction, from hot weather to cold, takes a lot longer. I noticed it when I was still travelling between Germany and Australia a lot: it takes a few days to get used to the heat, but weeks if not months for the body to change back to cold weather...

The people who suffer in the heat are those who don't drink enough, those who never move, and those who hide in the air-con all day.

A sedentary job in air-conditioned surrounds, that you commute to and from in an air-conditioned car, from/to your air-conditioned house... That does not give the body any opportunity to adapt.

Just sitting around in the heat and doing nothing is also a bad strategy. In an effort to cool the body down the blood vessels dilate (to move more blood = heat to the surface, to get rid of that heat via the skin). Blood pressure and circulation drop and you feel lethargic and, well, crappy.

And drinking enough is simply the single most important and most overlooked strategy to cope.

At the end of the day I think it depends a lot on what kind of person you are. You can ignore the heat, or you can focus on it. If you are the outdoors type who likes doing things and is active, then you'll have no problems.

There are very few days where the heat bothers me. It's only an issue for a few months of the year anyway.

Cold is much more of a problem I find :-). And I'm not kidding.

By the way, you are right to be excited. It's awesome up here!

All the best and hope the move goes smoothly!