If you’re planning a trip to one of the world’s huge arid regions, you might want to brush up on your desert survival abilities beforehand. However, you don’t need to be a full-fledged survival expert to stay alive in the desert if you remember a few key points.
It’s critical to understand the ecosystem if you live near a desert climate or want to visit one this year. If you wander off the track, here are a few basic survival skills that will keep you alive.
1. Light Up A Fire
While most people think of the desert as a bleak wasteland of dry sand and dirt where the temperature never drops below 100 degrees, the truth is that it may get rather cold.
In fact, desert areas are known for dropping below freezing at night, especially in the spring. Making a fire at night will keep you warm while also signalling rescuers that you are still alive. Dry animal droppings, as well as sage and dry brush, provide excellent fuel.
2. Take A Cover
This is similar to the previous method of concealing your head, but it also applies to the rest of your body. One of the first goals for desert survival is to find shade or build a shade shelter, as staying out of the direct sun and not straining yourself during the day can help you conserve water.
The immediate requirement will be for some temporary cover, and once the sun sets, you can build a more permanent shelter.
The overall aim is to avoid the sun’s dehydrating rays during the day and travel or forage during the cooler morning or evening hours.
3. Preserve Sweat
When you become lost in the desert, many people feel you should focus on preserving water, but it’s your perspiration that you should be concerned about.
Rather than clinging to the last drop of water from the canteen, concentrate on preserving your body temperature at 98.6 degrees and keeping your skin out of the sun. Construct a shaded shelter that allows the breeze to pass through. Don’t waste your time in the sun needlessly.
4. Stop Hunting For Food
When you become lost in the desert, many people feel you should focus on preserving water, but it’s your perspiration that you should be concerned about.
Rather than clinging to the last drop of water from the canteen, concentrate on preserving your body temperature at 98.6 degrees and keeping your skin out of the sun. Construct a shaded shelter that allows the breeze to pass through. Don’t waste your time in the sun needlessly.
5. Don’t Drink The Entire Water
Actually, if you have access to water, drink it. Just don’t drink it all at once if you’re thirsty. A better strategy is to drink alcohol in small doses throughout the day, rationing it for yourself.
The colour of your urine can help you determine whether or not you’re dehydrated; if it’s light, you’re probably fine, but if it’s dark, you should drink some water.
If you come across water in the desert, exercise extreme caution before drinking it; it may not be potable, and if it is, you’ll waste any water your body has stored the first time you vomit or have diarrhoea.
6. Try To Stay Off The Ground
While weariness may make you want to lie down on the ground, you should try to avoid doing so as much as possible.
Make a cushion to sit on because the desert ground can get up to 30 degrees hotter than the air temperature. If your automobile is stalled, remove the seats and set them on the ground in the shade. Otherwise, start unpacking your belongings and see what you can use to construct a seat out of. You should leave at least a foot and a half of space between your butt and the desert floor.
7. Keep Yourself Cool
Panic is one of the most deadly aspects of any survival crisis, so if you can calmly assess your situation and plan your next steps, you’ll be able to avoid a mad rush to get out of whatever circumstance you’re in (and possibly into a much worse situation).
Unless you know exactly where you are, you’re probably best off keeping put until either you’re rescued or you have a clearer sense of which way to go (and have assembled some protective sun gear to shade you during travel).
8. Keep Your Clothes On
It may seem like a good idea to start peeling off your clothes while the sun beats down on you, but this might be disastrous.
Sunburn and dehydration are both caused by exposing your skin to the sun. Instead, cover as much skin as possible and keep it out of the sunlight.
Also Read: How To Survive Depression.
