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It’s too darn hot in Colombia. To cope, this official advises no sex in the afternoon.

By Rebecca Tan
, Foreign reporter

August 17

It’s been a sweltering summer in many parts of the world, with millions scrambling for ways to cool off. On Wednesday, the 600,000 residents of Santa Marta, Colombia, were given one interesting suggestion: Stop having sex.

“Avoid making love or having sex at times when the temperature is high, especially at noon, because this activity places physical demands on you and increases your heart rate,” Santa Marta’s health secretary, Julio Salas, said on a local radio station. If residents believe physical activity is absolutely necessary, Salas advised, they should wait until after sunset “or at times when the temperature is lower,” Colombia Reports wrote.

Santa Marta, a coastal city popular among tourists, has seen one of the hottest summers in the South American country, averaging temperatures of above 90 degrees throughout July. In his radio interview, Salas said medical facilities have been overwhelmed with heat stroke cases, the Associated Press reported.

And Santa Marta isn’t alone. Cities across the world, from Tokyo to Montreal, have set all-time heat records in the summer, leaving residents and officials desperately seeking ways to cope.

In parts of Australia hit by drought, authorities have loosened restrictions on shooting wild kangaroos grazing on pastures needed by farmers to keep cattle alive. In Britain, which reports say has been woefully ill-equipped to deal with its recent heat wave, coastal towns in the southwestern county of Cornwall have seen so many visitors looking to cool down that they’ve stopped encouraging people to come, the Independent reported.

And in Japan, where more than 120 people died in an unprecedented heat wave, officials are considering even more drastic measures. Ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, the government announced, it is considering the idea of introducing daylight saving time during the summer, allowing the country to start its day two hours earlier, Reuters reported.

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