Suffering through Brasilia's dryness

THE humidity levels here in Brasilia have been so low lately that the local government has warned inhabitants not to exercise outside between 9 am and 5 pm. That doesn't seem to stop most Brazilians who love nothing more than running around on the streets exercising with as little clothing on as possible! Men often strip down to just sungas, or tiny bathing trunks, while women are often seen wearing a skimpy sports bra and shorts combo. They literally worship the sun, which I guess explains why they exercise when the humidity levels are at their lowest.

I just checked the [www.weather.com](http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/local/BRXX0043?lswe=Brasilia, BRAZIL&lwsa=Weather36HourBusinessTravelerCommand&from=searchbox_typeahead) website and it says the current humidity level in Brasilia is a throat-scratching 19 percent! Many people have nose bleeds here because of the dryness, and the number of people catching colds soars during the winter dry season because of the fluctuation between day and night temperatures and the extremely low humidity levels. During the day the sun heats up temperatures to around 28 degrees C, and then at night they can fall to 13 degrees C.

It has not rained here for more than a month now, which explains why I always have dry lips and feel thirsty. I have to constantly keep drinking water, and even bring water with me when I go out in the car or walking.

Brasilia does have a lake, the Lago Paranoa, which is a blessing really, as I cannot imagine how much worse the dryness would be if the lake didn't exist!

The problem with this dryness is that drinking much water at night while in bed, means that I have to get up to urinate a lot also. A friend of the family told us that there is a nasal spray one can buy from pharmacies that helps keep the nose and throat area more moist during the day, and thus supposedly cuts back on the risk of one catching a cold. I will have to try it.

One obvious solution to such extreme dryness is to use air humidifiers. I bought one for my mom a few years ago and it did bring us some relief. Unfortunately it has broken down, so I'm going to have to buy two new ones tomorrow. Until then, my lips will continue to be parched and my throat scratchy from so little humidity in the air!