It’s hot out there—and it’s only getting hotter. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, June 2024 was the hottest June in recorded history, capping 13 straight months of record-setting heat.

Even without knowing those statistics, you can feel them. Sarasota and Manatee counties have already issued several heat advisories in July, and the humidity makes stepping outside feel like you’re walking into a dog’s hot, wet mouth.

As Floridians, we signed up for hot summers so we can enjoy mild, 65-degree January days while our neighbors to the north shiver in coats and boots. But as the mercury continues to rise, so does the risk of heat-related illness and injury.

Outdoor workers who spend hours in the sun during the hottest part of the day—construction crews, utility workers, landscapers, farm workers and roofers—are at particularly high risk of heat illness, and city and county officials have few ways to help, since Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law this spring banning local governments from requiring heat and water breaks for outdoor workers. (In an interview in April, DeSantis told reporters that lawmakers in Miami-Dade County were responsible for the law due to their “concern” about how heat protections for workers would "cause a lot of problems down there.”)

However, Sarasota’s Fair Foods Standards Council, which was founded in 2011, has been working on ways to protect agricultural workers from heat-related injury for years. The council oversees, audits and enforces the Fair Food Program, which was created after protests by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a human rights organization, which campaigned to improve the conditions under which tomato workers were laboring. Under the Fair Food Program, participating buyers—including big-box stores like McDonald's, Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's and Walmart—pay a small premium to tomato growers, who pass that premium on to workers as a bonus on their paychecks. Between 2011 and 2018, more than $30 million in premiums were paid into the Fair Food Program.

In 2021, the council, the coalition and a group of  participating growers issued a new set of heat safety measures for agricultural workers that include access to shade and water, mandatory breaks and elective rest periods for employees, trilingual training materials and emergency response protocols.

“Our heat stress protocols have been called the best in the country,” says Mike Rios, the director of the Fair Food Standards Council. Rios replaced the council's founder, the Hon. Laura Safer Espinoza, five months ago; Espinoza continues to serve the organization in a senior advisory role. Before joining the council, Rios, 57, worked for the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division for 27 years and conducted agricultural investigations in the southeastern U.S., including at many farms that partner with the Fair Foods Standards Council. Of the heat protection protocols, he says, “We took a collaborative approach to getting things done, working in group meetings with the largest growers and producers in the Fair Food Program, who all said, ‘We need to do something about this.’” The result is that workers are safer, and the farms that employ them and the big-box stores they sell to have committed to the guidelines of the program, too.

While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Labor have been hamstrung in implementing similar national regulations due to pushback from the agricultural industry, Rios says that because the Fair Food Standards Council is unattached to anything related to local, state or federal regulations, it is able to get things done much more quickly and without significant red tape.

And, he says, the heat stress protocols dramatically improve workers’ lives, including their mental health. “Workers can take a break without fear of retaliation from their employer,” Rios says. Violations are monitored by the Fair Foods Standards Council, which runs a 24/7 hotline year-round that farmworkers can call to report a problem if needed. “If workers can’t call, that’s how the wheels fall off all of this,” says Rios.

Mandatory breaks and employer-provided shade and water can literally save lives, especially when it comes to preventing a major illness like heat stroke, which can be deadly. “Heat stroke is a true medical emergency,” says Casey Howell, a 39-year-old trauma emergency resuscitation nurse and trauma injury prevention coordinator at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. People who experience it usually have extremely high temperatures (103 degrees or higher) and dry skin, have stopped sweating and, if they haven’t lost consciousness, often complain about confusion, headaches, dizziness and nausea. “If you think someone is experiencing heat stroke, get them to an emergency room immediately,” says Howell.

Even if your work doesn’t require you to be outside, Howell says that Florida’s consistently hot weather means that we should all know our personal risk tolerance and make responsible choices when we go outside. “It’s hotter and more humid than it used to be—that’s a statistical fact,” she says. “We need to get into a mindset of planning for the heat more than we might be accustomed to. You’ll enjoy yourself more and be less susceptible to heat-related injuries.”

How to Stay Safe in the Heat

Howell's top tips and expert perspective from her career in trauma injury prevention.

Know Your Personal Risk Factor Before You Go Outside

“If you’re very fair-skinned and burn easily, you can’t tolerate the sun as long,” Howell says. The very young and elderly are more prone to heat-related injury, and if you’ve been drinking the night before, you’re at a higher risk of becoming dehydrated and getting sick. Certain medications, including diuretics and antihistamines, can also increase the risk of heat-related illness or injury and if you already have a sunburn or heat rash, those can increase sensitivity to heat and the sun, as well.

Cover up and Wear SPF—Lots of It

The hottest time of day is between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., so try to avoid being in the sun for extended periods doing those hours and avoid heavy work if you have to be outside. If you do, wear loose clothing made from ultraviolet protection factor, or UPF, fabric, which offers protection from the sun's UVA and UVB rays; sunglasses that block 99 to 100 percent of UVA and UVB rays; and a hat with a wide brim that covers the back of the neck and the ears, forehead and scalp. “We lose about 20 percent of our body heat through the top of our head, so this may seem counterintuitive, but you’re providing yourself with a bunch of shade by wearing a hat," says Howell.

As for SPF, Howell says to apply early and often. “SPF 15 blocks 93 percent of U.V. rays and [formulas] increase incrementally from that, but if SPF 100 makes you feel better, wear it,” she says. “If you don’t like chemical sunscreens, wear mineral. Just use it, and use more than you think you need. There’s no risk in over-applying.”

And don’t forget: Just because it’s cloudy doesn’t mean you can skip the 'screen. “You will absolutely still burn on overcast days,” Howell says.

Stay Hydrated

“Drink all of the fluids!” Howell says, but do avoid caffeine and alcohol. “If water’s not your thing, drink Gatorade, coconut water or herbal tea, but I want you to be well-hydrated.” A good rule of thumb: “If you drink soda, beer or something with alcohol or caffeine, follow it with two un-caffeinated, non-alcoholic beverages to maintain hydration,” Howell says. “Alcohol and caffeine are diuretics and pull fluids out of the body. You have to replace what you’re losing and put in extra to maintain hydration.” Get those 48-ounce tumblers ready.

Take Shade Breaks Often

“When the heat index is over 100, you should be much more cautious, especially when you think about sun exposure and workload,” says Howell. "You might be doing construction or landscaping, or you might just be running around in the yard with your kids, but for every 40 minutes in the sun, you should rest [in the shade] for 20 minutes, especially if you’re outside during the hottest part of the day.” According to Howell, people who aren’t acclimated to Florida’s heat and humidity are going to be much more susceptible to heat-related illness and injury, especially if they push themselves too hard.

Understand the Signs of Heat Exhaustion So You Can Avoid Heat Stroke

Heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke, and knowing the warning signs is important. “Heat exhaustion can make you feel terrible, but it’s recoverable,” says Howell. “When you recognize the signs, you’re already in it.” Symptoms include heavy sweating; a fast, weak pulse; cold, clammy skin; muscle cramps; nausea or vomiting; tiredness or weakness; dizziness, headaches and feeling faint or even passing out.

When it’s really hot out, Howell says you should be sweating, especially if you’re doing moderate to heavy work. “The point at which you stop sweating is a major problem,” Howell says. “Active sweating is the body’s intrinsic, natural way of cooling itself. When you can no longer produce sweat, your body has gone through its reserve of fluid to cool itself, and you’re in a deficit.” Other symptoms of heat exhaustion include muscle cramps in the calves and legs, lethargy, weakness, dizziness, a pale or clammy complexion, feeling like you might faint or even losing consciousness, a pounding headache and nausea.

If you feel bad in the heat, Howell says the first step is to immediately seek shade or go inside so you can get out of direct sunlight and reduce your body’s ambient temperature. Drink fluids or eat something cold, like a Popsicle, to cool down, and jump into a pool or hose yourself down if you can. “You want to get your body temp down as quick as possible,” she says.