Okay, this advice is technically for toddlers, but it might be what you need to hear right now,

especially if you are, like I am, living in a part of the country that is still cooking through a brutal heat wave.

It comes from Javeria Royal at Curiosity Preschool and Child Care Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.

As a teacher, I have to constantly remind them, like, hey, you know, your body is like an

engine. It can overheat, so you need to fuel yourself with water.

She's adjusted the kid's schedule. Outdoor activities are all in the morning, and that is

important because this kind of heat can be dangerous for everyone.

We will expect to see more emergency department visits because of heat stress.

We'll expect to see probably an increase in deaths.

That's Patricia Fabian, an associate professor of environmental health at Boston University,

speaking to us over the weekend.

She says an early heat wave like this, it is only June, can be especially

dangerous. That's partly because people haven't prepared. Maybe their air conditioners aren't put

into, like for window air conditioners. They haven't thought about hydration and carrying water

bottles. But also, she says, our bodies aren't ready. The other big part of it is really more the physiological

response. That as time goes by and we're exposed to hot weather, our body learns how to

sweat and cool down. This early in the season, our bodies haven't had time to adapt. And if we

zoom out a bit, you can see a similar pattern playing out on a larger scale.

Climate change is making heat waves more intense across most of the U.S.

And a lot of American cities just aren't made for this kind of heat, like where Fabian lives.

In Boston, we've been used to thinking about cold and blizzards and snow days and not heat days.

And I think for that reason also, all of the buildings have been built up over time to retain heat and not to be cool.

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