Planning for the heat: Temperatures to begin climbing this weekend

With temperatures expected to climb on the Lower Mainland in the coming days, experts say this is a good time to start planning and preparing, if you haven’t already done so.

The forecast is calling for temperatures into the 30s in some parts of the region next week — some of the highest we’ve seen so far this summer.

“Now, you’re still a few days out, it’s a great time for … planning and thinking about preparing. Having a fan if you don’t have one, getting portable air conditioning if you don’t have that and you’re able to, it’s important to connect up with the forecast, know where to go for the information and look at that heat warning if it comes out,” explained Dr. David McVea with the BC Centre for Disease Control.

The BCCDC’s reminder comes just days after the province urged British Columbians to prepare for higher temperatures, though no extreme heat advisories have been issued.

While the province says it’s “not currently anticipating an extreme heat emergency,” conditions are expected to get hotter and drier, starting as early as this weekend.

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• What’s changed in B.C.’s emergency response one year after the heat dome?

Planning ahead isn’t just for yourself, McVea notes. He says this is a good time to have important conversations with loved ones and neighbours who may be more at risk due to higher temperatures.

“Think about the people in your life who might be more susceptible to the effects of heat. So people who are living alone, people who are living in upper levels of homes and may not have air conditioning, older people, people with reduced mobility — they are people who are really susceptible to the heat, so it’s a good time to talk to them, connect with them, let them know it’s coming, and make sure that they have a fan or air conditioning if they need it,” he explained.

“Connecting with people and watching out for your neighbours can be really, really important. As we’re approaching this heat warning, just reach out to your neighbours, if you have an elderly neighbour who lives alone, a family member who lives alone, check up on them, knock on their door, see if they know that this heat is coming.”

In recent heat waves, municipalities have opened cooling centres and spray parks to help locals beat the heat. People are encouraged to seek out such spaces, as well as do things like take a cold shower and keep hydrated.

Not a heat dome

The warnings and reminders come after a deadly heat dome last year. More than 600 people died across B.C. and many others were left ill after temperatures spiked in the summer of 2021.

Temperatures this week and next are not expected to hit near what we saw during last year’s heat dome.

“That type of event is something that we don’t anticipate seeing every summer, and that would be the higher threshold of warning, so not the heat warning but the extreme heat health emergency. That’s something we anticipate only once every five or 10 years or so,” McVea said of the heat dome.

“It’s very important to keep on top of the forecast, listen to the health authorities for what they’re saying, and they will update people if that changes, but right now we don’t see that happening in the next few weeks.”

And though the BCCDC doesn’t anticipate a heat dome every summer for the time being, as McVea explained, he does note temperatures are increasing each year.

However, he adds there’s more awareness about the heat from the public.

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-With files from OMNI News