The heat was on in the Maritimes today and it was on high from Campbellton to Yarmouth as heat warnings have been issued across our region.
Thursday marked the first day when the temperature rose above 30 C.
The heat, combined with the humidity, made feel-like temperatures soar into the mid-to-high 30s across much of New Brunswick and Southwestern Nova Scotia.
The department of health's heat alert response system has fired back up and a level one warning was issued for almost every part of New Brunswick.
“It's really designed just to let people know that they should be cautious about the risk of developing heat illness or heat stroke,” said New Brunswick’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Jennifer Russell. “And by that we mean you can have nausea, vomiting, you can get fatigue, you can get disoriented, you can pass out. If you have underlying medical conditions you can have even more problems.”
Russell says vulnerable populations, like the elderly and those with chronic conditions, should be checked on to see how they're doing in heat like this.
Other cities were feeling the heat and humidity too.
Lake Banook crowded with paddlers and swimmers as everybody was trying to cool off.
And, it’s still not over. There's more of the same in Friday's forecast and into the weekend, so, drink up!
“Just because it's going to be so hot for the next two days, we figured, might as well get people to try it!” said Robyn Davis, of Radical Edge, a downtown Fredericton shop offering up a chance to get hydrated.
“You're losing a lot of salt when you're sweating, so it just really helps to bring it back up,” said one Fredericton resident.
One key to keeping your cool when the mercury soars?
“You need to drink lots of water,” Russell said. “Stay in an air conditioned area if you can and if you don't have that access, go to a mall, wear light-coloured clothing, try to take breaks indoors.”
Great advice to keep in mind for the rest of the summer, which appears to have finally arrived a little later than the calendar, says it does.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.
