Quebecers will sweat throughout the month of July, since temperatures will remain above normal even after the intense heat wave that is currently raging.
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“We don’t stay out too long. It’s too hot! It would be fun to have a watering can nearby to cool off,” said Jérôme Mongrain, a construction worker, transporting equipment to a residential site on Jean-Talon Street in Montreal.
Jérôme Mongrain, a construction worker on a construction site near the Jean-Talon market, avoids being in the sun as much as possible when it’s this hot.
Olivier Faucher / JdeM
The temperature felt on Wednesday with the Humidex index reached 40°C in Montreal, while the heat wave that hits all of Quebec will continue today, or even tomorrow too, said Simon Legault, meteorologist for Environment Canada.
Quebec is far from being the only place to have been hot over the past few days, since Tuesday was the hottest day ever recorded on the planet.
The US Oceanic and Atmospheric Observation Agency (NOAA) has indeed indicated that the average air temperature on the earth’s surface on Tuesday was 17.18°C, breaking the record of 17.01°C set… the day before.
Verdun beach during the heat wave on July 5, 2023.
Pierre-Paul Poulin / Le Journal de Montreal / QMI Agency
“Very difficult” for workers
Several workers crossed by The newspaper yesterday were sweating profusely and trying to get through the day drinking lots of water.
At the restaurant Frite So, on rue Villeray, a sign informs passers-by that the establishment is open, but that the employees have “the face in the fridge” so hot they are.
“Earlier, I filled my fridge with Pepsi, and I took my time. I kept my face a lot in it, ”confirms owner Marie-Christine Plante, who prepares poutines in the kitchen with another employee.
Marie-Christine Plante, owner of the Frite So restaurant on Villeray Street, sticks her head in the fridge to cool off.
Olivier Faucher / JdeM
“It’s very difficult,” she continues. We need to take breaks regularly, we drink a lot of water. Customers have to be more patient because it takes longer and we get mixed up sometimes.”
At the Jean-Talon Market, the terraces were busy in the early afternoon and many merchants were serving customers in the oppressive heat.
“Look at my face. I’m all wet!, says Giovanni Bono, employee of a plant merchant. If it’s two or three days like that, it’s drinkable. It’s when it’s a week that it’s more difficult for the body.
A warmer month of July
Once the heat wave is over, Quebecers will have to prepare for a warmer month of July than usual, according to Simon Legault of Environment Canada.
“We are clearly expecting warmer than normal weather for the next few weeks. But the further north we go [du Québec]the greater the deviation from normal.
Oka beach in the heat wave on July 5, 2023.
MARTIN ALARIE / MONTREAL JOURNAL
After a rocky start to the summer, the rain could nevertheless continue to play spoilsport, including next week.
“We risk having certain rain systems that will affect us, which is not a bad thing for fighting forest fires, but of course it tints the portrait of those who want to enjoy the holidays. »
Less worse than before in CHSLDs
Patients in CHSLDs were far fewer yesterday than a few years ago to go through a heat wave without any air conditioning, according to the minister responsible for seniors, Sonia Bélanger.
While only 20% of rooms were air-conditioned in 2020, Quebec claims to have increased this proportion to 70% thanks to investments of hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years.
Rooms are air-conditioned either centrally or from portable equipment. “It’s a very, very big improvement over five years ago,” said M.me Belanger.
The other facilities have common areas that are air-conditioned, she says.
Public health departments are also responsible for contacting vulnerable seniors living at home to ensure that they have access to cool areas.
– With the collaboration of Patrick Bellerose