‘If my fan is off, I’m dripping in sweat’
Expect to suffer through daytime temperatures hovering around the 30 C mark until at least the middle of next week
Hamilton resident John Mills says he waits all year long for the summertime heat, but this week admits it’s a bit “over the top.”
“I love the heat,” he said. “But, even this is a little bit oppressive.”
Mills is one of thousands of residents living without an air conditioner amid a drawn-out heat wave that doesn’t appear to be letting up any time soon.
Temperatures were set to spike Thursday, potentially breaking Hamilton’s heat records as the daily high was expected to feel like 42 with the humidity. According to Environment Canada, the highest temperature recorded for July 9 was in 1988 when it reached 36.4 C.
The City of Hamilton declared an extended heat warning on July 4 and residents can expect to feel daytime temperatures hover around the 30 C mark until at least the middle of next week, according to Environment Canada.
For many, extended heat warnings means flocking to public libraries, malls and cooling centres to catch a break from the stifling humidity.
The city has opened up five community centres, as well as Hamilton’s Central Library, to act as cooling sites. A number of city pools and splash pads have also reopened.
But in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of cooling off comes with a risk assessment for the city’s most vulnerable.
“People who are immunocompromised might not want to take that risk of gathering where there are others,” said Tom Cooper, director of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction.
“That’s what a cooling centre does, but with air conditioning,” he said.
Cooper said the pandemic has also restricted some of the more “practical” spaces where residents frequently head to cool off.
If open, malls have limited capacity and seating, groceries stores are physically-distanced and library branches are typically open as cooling centres, but they’ve been mostly shuttered to the public.
The capacity of the centres that are open have also been reduced to allow for physical distancing and contact information could be requested.
Users will also be screened for symptoms of the virus and people are encouraged to wear a face covering if they have one.
“It’s a very tough situation right now,” said Cooper. “It’s extremely challenging and extremely dangerous for vulnerable people.”
‘Bake like ovens’
Cooper said residents living on the city’s skyline in highrises are some of the most at-risk through the heat wave.
Tenants like Mills are at risk of heatstroke, even while remaining inside as the buildings can “bake like ovens,” he added.
Mills, 68, said even with neighbouring towers blocking most of the direct sun from getting into his Jackson Street West apartment, his unit still heats up to “about the same” temperature as outside.
“It gets to the point where you can’t go to bed until 3 o’clock in the morning because it hasn’t cooled down enough yet,” he said. “Then what does that do to
your schedule? It gets pretty screwed up.”
For CityHousing tenant Alana Baltzer, she’s depending on a consistent fan with the occasional ice bucket propped in front of it to get by.
The window of her Hess Street apartment won’t open wide enough to fit an air conditioner and she can’t afford a portable unit that would work in the space.
“If my fan is off, I’m dripping in sweat,” said Baltzer. “Sometimes it’s cooler outside than it is inside.”
Like Mills, Baltzer is normally “all about” the heat. During the summer she loves to hike, visit friends and go for walks.
But this heat wave is one of the “worst” she’s experienced, despite growing up without air conditioning. Summertime heat was something the 31-year-old had grown “used” to.
Baltzer has now had to seek refuge with friend’s most days to avoid the “heatstroke territory” temperatures her apartment reaches most days.
“There is a limit and we’ve passed it,” she said. “I have no energy, it’s just lying down with the fan until it gets to the point where I’ve gotta get out of here.”
Cooper said the heat wave compounded by COVID-19 has shone a light on the importance of people being able to safely cool off in their own homes.
“It’s making it all the more difficult for a population that has suffered a lot over the last several months,” said Cooper. “The challenges of a warming planet combined with income inequality make for an untenable situation.”