A hot air mass is swelling up temperatures for most of New Brunswick after a heat warning was issued on Wednesday.
In some parts of the province, the humidex reached 40 degrees, prompting a heat warning from Environment Canada.
After a week of unusually cool temperatures, the thermometre crept past 30 degrees for most of the region.
“I’m loving it, even though I’m eight months pregnant,” says resident Stephanie L’Hullier. “Winter is going to soon be here, so I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can.”
However, precautions are needed. Along with temperatures in the low 30s, the humidex made it feel like 40.
The warnings encompass all counties in the western half of the province, from Woodstock in the south, to the Acadian Peninsula in the north.
Heat warnings are issued when high temperature or high humidity is expected to create an elevated risk of heat illnesses, such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion.
“Once you get a value of the humidex of 40 or above, then the general population will feel uncomfortable under such weather conditions,” says Claude Cote of Environment Canada.
However, there are some people more vulnerable than others.
“We made the choice to not go outside between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., just to be on the safe side,” says early childhood educator Kelli Crute.
This is the first clear day all summer that children at the daycare haven’t been allowed to go outside.
“The children are so young that they can’t tell you if they are too warm, especially when they are two and under,” says Crute. “You can only make sure they are hydrated so much.”
Seniors, especially those with respiratory problems, are also at risk.
“We close windows and close curtains and we have air conditioning units,” says senior’s home administrator Jane Doyle. “We make sure we have fans in the hallways in open areas, just to make sure as much air can circulate as possible.”
Health officials suggest lots of water and to seek shelter in the shade – whatever it takes to stay cool.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis
