HELTER SWELTER
Health alerts issued as record temperatures expected across B.C.
Frosty beverages? Check. Sunglasses and sunscreen? Check? Recordbreaking temperatures in the 30s and into the 40s? Double check.
British Columbians are being told to brace themselves as a heat wave is expected to sweep the province, bringing record temperatures this weekend and into Canada Day.
“The sun is as strong as it gets throughout the entire year,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Matt McDonald. “So take it easy, stay hydrated.” First responders, community agencies and municipalities are preparing extreme weather plans should things take a turn for the worse.
According to Environment Canada’s special weather statement for Metro Vancouver, the heat wave will “invade” southern B.C. this weekend, increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses. Temperatures will likely hit the low 30s along the south coast and climb into the high 30s in the southern Interior.
The highest temperatures are expected Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon, with a possible thunderstorm along the south coast on Sunday evening.
Following that, a “slight cooling trend” will bring a bit of relief Monday before temperatures — expected to be about 10 degrees higher than normal — return to the high 20s and low 30s through to Canada Day on Wednesday. Temperatures of up to 40 are expected in the Fraser Canyon and south Okanagan.
In Vancouver, deputy city manager Sadhu Johnston said the city has already rolled out the early stages of its Extreme Heat Plan by installing additional water fountains in hightraffic areas, and posting notices about the heat wave around the city.
A more severe heat warning would see the city open additional cooling centres, and increase monitoring of populations at risk of heat-related illnesses.
Vancouver’s extreme heat strategy was introduced in 2010 — the first of its kind in B.C. — following the 2009 death of a homeless man, Curtis Brick, in Grandview Park during a July 2009 heat wave.
According to Vancouver Coastal Health, studies have shown a correlation between extreme heat waves and a spike in mortality rates.
Those who are most at risk in heat waves include young children, seniors, those with pre-existing health conditions, and the at-risk street population.
Union Gospel Mission spokeswoman Keela Keeping said the atrisk community is already in “survival mode” and extreme weather conditions only exaggerate those conditions.
“Unfortunately, after a while, people don’t even register a homeless person as a human being,” Keeping said.
Across the region, fire and fireworks bans have been enacted, especially in advance of Canada Day, when amateur pyrotechnics become popular.
As of noon Saturday, campfires will only be allowed on northern Vancouver Island, mid-coast on the mainland and on Haida Gwaii.
The prohibition covers all provincial parks, Crown land and private land.
Since the beginning of the fire season, B.C. crews have responded to 530 wildfires, more than half of which were started by humans.
McDonald said this weekend’s temperatures will likely smash both daily and monthly records.
“It’s one thing to break daily records but toward the end of the month, we may even break the June record, which is a lot harder to do,” McDonald said.