Maritime heat warnings continue as workers brave the elements

With conditions expected to feel around 43 degrees with the humidex in Moncton on Wednesday, it didn’t take Dan Melanson with All Angles Covered Roofing long to make a decision for his entire team.

“We started at 6:30 this morning and we knew around 10 o’clock it was going to be an early day,” he said. “We’re making decisions based on safety and we’ve decided to shut it down. We’d rather play it safe than sorry. We’ve in a vulnerable trade where safety is a concern on an everyday, so you add the heat, you add the elements and my job is to make those decisions.”

The heat warning, which now blankets all of the Maritimes, started on Monday in the Moncton area and is expected to continue through Thursday and possibly into Friday according to Environment Canada.

This warning is issued when there are two consecutive days and nights of hot temperatures.

In Moncton, daytime highs are expected to reach between 30 to 35 C with the Humidex, making it feel closer to 39 to 45 C for both Wednesday and Thursday.

“[I’m] just drinking lots of water and trying to stay out of the sun,” said Joshua Poirier, who was delivering beer in downtown Moncton on Wednesday.

Workers load beer into a truck in Moncton, N.B., on June 19, 2024. (Alana Pickrell/CTV Atlantic)

In total, he had about 20 deliveries to make, which is an average day at work even with the hot conditions.

“[I feel] a little nauseous, but I mean that’s just normal when you’re lifting stuff, but I mean, I’m enjoying it,” he said. “The sun’s nice, better than raining.”

At Take 5 Oil Change on Mountain Road, store manager Pankaj Sharma says the weather conditions have definitely been taken into consideration.

“We’ve been giving out water to the customers and it’s a really nice initiative by owners, the franchise owners, they put up a fridge there and it’s really nice to have some cold water in this hot summer,” he said

On June 19, 2024, a Take 5 Oil Change employee is seen handing a bottle of water to a customer. (Alana Pickrell/CTV Atlantic)

He notes the garage doesn’t have air conditioning, but they find ways to cool down the workspace.

“We open both the doors to get some really nice air flow through the garage and if it’s very windy that’s a little bit of a problem, but today it’s really nice, a nice breeze there,” he said.

Environment Canada has put out several recommendations as the Maritimes sweat through the first heat wave of 2024, including to drink plenty of water, never leave people or pets inside a parked vehicle and take regularly scheduled breaks in cool or shaded spaces for all workers.

A man is seen carrying supplies in Moncton, N.B., on June 19, 2024. (Alana Pickrell/CTV Atlantic)

In Halifax temperatures are expected to feel like 38 C with the Humidex.

Black Top Paving was hard at work Wednesday in Lower Sackville, N.S.

“The key is just lots of water, drinking lots of water, staying in the shade once in a blue moon and taking excessive breaks, like lots of breaks,” said Black Top Paving owner James Downey.

The sun is seen shining without a cloud in the sky on June 19, 2024. (Source: Carl Pomeroy/CTV News Atlantic)

Both the heat and the humidity are expected to reach a peak across the Maritimes Wednesday and Thursday. 

More pictures captured during the Maritimes' heat wave can be seen here.