August 18, 2011 – The temperature was 41º Celsius in Madrid. It was fever pitch outside. The sun was rising and so as the heat. people are sweating and some where even taken to emergency medical tents because of the extreme heat that WYD Pilgrims are experiencing. Madrid organizers already warned Pilgrims beforehand to bring protection against the sun and heat like light clothing, sun block, umbrellas, and hats because summer in Spain is going to be hot. True enough when the Pilgrims arrived, the atmospheric air was oven heated, prompting firefighters all over the city to make their rounds on all corners and street blocks with people lined up on sidewalks in order to cool them off with water hosed from firetrucks. But WYD Volunteers and WYD Organizers had a different strategy to fight the heat: they facilitated massive icebreakers, unfreezers and games not just to cool the mercury rising, but also to keep the people cool and calm as boredom worsened by heat, slowly gets into the nerves of the Pilgrims. Yes, fire and heat was fighting over on the third day of World Youth Day.

HEATWAVE

Photos captured during the cooling off of Pilgrims on August 18, 2011, Day 3 of World Youth Day 2011 Madrid as Pilgrims waiting under the sun for Pope Benedict XVI are hosed down with water to keep the temperature below. Many have been taken to emergency tents and stations because of heat-related fatigue and fainting.

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ICEBREAKERS AND UNFREEZERS

WYD Volunteers and WYD Organizers help facilitate unfreezers, icebreakers, fillers, games and group dynamics to kill time while waiting for the Pope to arrive, and also to cool off pilgrims by facilitating movements and dynamics that will divert the attention of the pilgrims from the heat and also to aid the body to release heat. Physiologically speaking, movements will help produce sweat and perspiration that will dissipate heat from the body.

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