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You Think It's Hot On The East Coast? Darwin Goes Troppo For Real

If you've never heard of 'the build up', then you can't complain about being hot.

Interviews: Cayla Dengate. Shot & edited: Emily Verdouw

Going troppo. Mango madness. The build up.

If these terms mean nothing to you, then you're not allowed to complain about being hot.

In Australia's northern regions, there's a period of time where the wet season is on its way, but it can't quite get there, so day after day after day, storm clouds roll in, temperatures hit about 40 degrees, but the rain never comes.

This is called 'the build up', and according to the locals in the video above, it makes people go a bit troppo.

Doctor Matt Brearley, who has created heat stress programs for the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre, said being hot did in fact affect your headspace.

People are quite aggressive and we see a general lack of tolerance.Matt Brearley

"The build up signifies a build up of moisture and heat during the day but unfortunately we don't get the rains that cool us down. It just leaves us with hot sweaty nights," Brearley told The Huffington Post Australia.

"Being hot in the day can have an effect on you but being hot during the night can exacerbate that so you actually don't cool at all during a 24 hour period and hence the term 'build up' is transferable with 'troppo season' 'mango madness'."

Mango madness separates the boys from the men.
AOL
Mango madness separates the boys from the men.

He said police and hospitals were all too familiar with mango madness.

"People are quite aggressive and we see a general lack of tolerance," he said.

"In terms of studying that, it's hard to get a handle on whether there's more aggression or not so we looked at a study of assault-related deaths and suicide-related deaths across the year and found that during the build-up period from October to December, about 50 percent of or assault-related deaths in the Top End occur in that period, and 37 percent of our suicide-related deaths occur during that period.

"That is signifying there is a change during that period. It's not just our anecdotal observations, the science is showing it does occur."

So what do you do if you're overheating? Brearley said it was imperative to cool down, whether that be by going into air conditioning, jumping into a swimming pool or taking a cold shower over a 20-30 minute period.

"Slurpies are a fantastic way of cooling from the inside out," Brearley said.

"Ingesting ice is really powerful because your body has to melt that ice. You get a drop in your core body temperature and a drop in your sweat rate.

"After work or on a hot day, have a slurpee, take a cold shower or a dip in a pool and cool down."

If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 131114. For further information about depression, contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.

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