Heat Waves

For a lot of us, we think of a heat wave as a couple of days of extreme heat. Extreme heat will also vary depending on your location. In the southern United States, extreme heat is over 100F (38C). In places in Canada, our extreme heat is anything over 86F (30C).

As I write this blog, we are on day 7 of extreme heat. We have had days reaching 34C (93F) and we also have a humidex, so our temperatures with the humidity have been reaching 42C to 46C. Today the forecast high is 31C (88F) feeling more like 40C (104F). A lot of people have been having issues because not everyone has air conditioning because we normally don’t stay this hot for this long.

In Toronto, we are fortunate as the city extends the hours of some of the outdoor public pools and there are cooling locations around the city. For those of us without air conditioning, it means lots of fans running, as well as finding cool places to go during the day. For people in smaller towns, it is harder to find the cool places.

The forecast is finally for us to have two or three cooler days, and everyone is happy to hear that. Sure, there will always be people that want the heat to stay, but when even walking short distances is being advised against it is too hot. There are people that still have to work outside in this heat, and I feel sorry for them.

I know in about six or seven months we are going to be complaining about the cold weather. I don’t mind temperatures around 28C feeling like 32C, but once it is hotter than that I don’t like it. For me, one of my favourite spots, when it is hot out, is sitting on our balcony. I can sit on the balcony and do some of my work and stay cool as we face north-east. We don’t get the hot afternoon sun directly on the balcony, so it is a nice place to escape.

Heat waves seem to be happening more often and lasting longer. Maybe global warming has something to do with it. I know I am looking forward to getting a bit of a break from this heat. If you are dealing with a heat wave, try and stay cool and know it won’t last forever.