Montreal braces for intense heat wave with temperatures expected to soar
A heat wave is coming to Montreal this week with temperatures expected to reach as high as 35 C.
A warm air mass will af‐ fect southern Quebec begin‐ ning Tuesday, with overnight lows above 20 C. These con‐ ditions will persist into Thurs‐ day evening, according to a special weather statement by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
Last week, ECCC an‐ nounced that its experts predict higher-than-normal temperatures throughout most of Canada this summer.
"Climate change is affect‐ ing Canadians' health, safety and quality of life," an ECCC news release says. "We are already facing record-break‐ ing climate conditions, with wildfires and extreme heat becoming more frequent."
Past heat waves have led to tragedy in Montreal. In the summer of 2018, 66 people died during a heat wave.
City officials have launched a number of mea‐ sures in the years since in ef‐ fort to prevent heat-related deaths, including a special in‐ tervention plan when the city is facing extreme heat.
On its website, Montreal recommends people drink lots of water, even if they aren't thirsty, during heat waves. People should reduce physical activity, wear lightcoloured clothing, keep in touch with family and friends and spend a few hours per day in an air-conditioned lo‐ cation, the city says.
Montrealers should call Info-Santé at 811 or talk to a health-care professional if they have symptoms such as exhaustion, dehydration, headache, dizziness or confu‐ sion. If these symptoms are coupled with feeling feverish, it could be heat stroke and require calling 911, the city says.
The city recommends vis‐ iting areas such as parks, swimming pools, mist sta‐ tions and libraries to cool off.
Dr. Laura Sang, a family physician working in the greater Montreal area, told CBC Montreal's Daybreak that the most common form of heat illness she gets are people with fungal infections on their skin because they struggle to keep it dry.
Those with acute heat-re‐ lated illness usually end up in the emergency room, she said.
She said young children may dehydrate quicker on hot days, and everybody should be cautious about participating in outdoor sports or activities when tem‐ peratures rise.
Sang said she is most worried about older popula‐ tions, especially those in long-term care homes that don't have proper air condi‐ tioning or ventilation.
She warned that young children or older people with cognitive impairment may not recognize the signs of de‐ hydration or other heat-re‐ lated symptoms. She said it's good to be able to recognize these symptoms in others.
If someone stops sweat‐ ing when it's really hot, she said that's a bad sign. Other symptoms to look for are dry mouth and lips and signs of confusion, she said. This could be a sign they are ap‐ proaching heat exhaustion.
"What you want to do is get that person out of the heat, cool them down and re‐ hydrate them," Sang said.