Take precautions, check in on elderly and vulnerable people during heatwave: health officials

With heat warnings in place across the Lower Mainland, municipalities are warning people to stay cool and stay safe.

Cooling centres are open, public pools and beaches are busy, and health officials are urging you to check in on family, friends, and neighbours who may be vulnerable to the heat over the next few days, particularly the elderly, those who are isolated, or anyone who may have health or mobility issues.

Related links:

• Metro Vancouver cooling centres open as heat sets in for Lower Mainland

• Prolonged heat wave hitting Vancouver and south coast this week

The City of Vancouver says guidance from its health partners “indicates that it may be unsafe for some people at greater risk of heat illness to spend time in indoor temperatures above 26°C. The risk may increase significantly when indoor temperatures are above 31°C.”

Those temperatures are a real possibility for many homes and apartments without air conditioning over the next few days, and CityNews meteorologist Carl Lam says the humidity is also a concern.

“That’s a big player today because it is extremely moist air that is headed into our region. It’s going to feel like 33 to 37 degrees, and that is just gross in terms of how it feels on your body,” Lam said. “It’s the sensation you get when your clothes just stick to you; it feels like you’re walking into a sauna and someone gives you a hot cup of coffee, or you’re using a blowdryer and just aiming it at your face.”

If your indoor space becomes too hot, the advice from the City of Vancouver is to take cool baths or showers, wear a wet shirt or apply damp towels to your skin, open windows at night and close windows, blinds, and curtains during the day. If you can’t stay cool at home, visit malls, neighbourhood spaces, or public cooling centres.

While the heatwave is only adding to prolonged drought conditions for B.C.’s south coast, the Chair of Metro Vancouver’s Water Committee says there are some exceptions to the region’s Stage Two water restrictions while heat warnings are in effect.

“The main restriction for Stage Two is the lawn watering, so you can’t water your lawn,” said Malcolm Brodie. “In fact, if you have a kiddie pool at home, you can fill it. If you have a backyard pool, you can top it up.

“The exceptions basically come under the category of health and safety; the misters, the water parks, those kinds of places are still operating,” he told CityNews. “Of course, the water parks usually recycle their water anyway, but you can still have that kind of feature. I can anticipate they will be busy for the next few days.”

Though the province says a repeat of the heat dome is not in the forecast, heat warnings from Environment Canada blanket much of the southern coast of B.C.

Warnings have also been issued for parts of the province’s interior, such Kootenay Lake, where temperatures are forecast to top 37 degrees between now and Thursday, and North Thompson, where highs of 29 degrees are expected.

Special weather statements were also issued in the South Okanagan, including Penticton, and the northern Cariboo regions from now until Thursday, but the weather office says these could be upgraded if nighttime temperatures rise.