How to stay cool without AC: Expert gives tips ahead of B.C.'s first hot stretch of summer
After a cooler-than-usual spring, many British Columbians are welcoming the province's first hot stretch of the summer this weekend.
While temperatures aren't expected to soar to levels seen during last summer's deadly heat dome, there are still dangers associated to warmer-than-average temperatures, especially if you don't have air conditioning.
Dr. Sarah Henderson, scientific director of environmental health services at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control tells CTV News that one of the ways people can stay cool is by spending time in air conditioned places.
"Places like shopping malls, movie theatres, libraries, community centers, that sort of thing," she says.
When it comes to keeping your home cooler, Henderson suggests pulling your blinds down first thing in the morning, so you don't gain more heat through your windows.
"Close your windows in the morning so that you trap the cooler air indoors," she says. "Then when it gets cooler outside again in the evening and it gets breezy, open everything right up to bring that cool air into the house."
Henderson says turning on fans, including the ones in your bathroom and kitchen, will also help move cooler air into your home so that you start the next day at a cooler temperature.
As for keeping your body cool, Henderson adds that it's important to stay hydrated.
"Drink lots and lots of water, even if you don't feel thirsty," she says. "Put a T-shirt under some water and wring it out and put it on. That really helps to cool you down as well as taking a cool shower, bath or anything that will just help your body stay as cool as possible."
According to Environment Canada, communities in B.C.'s Interior could see temperatures reach the low to mid-30s this weekend.
Metro Vancouver is forecast to see daytime highs hitting the 30s as well.
"When we are not acclimatized to these warmer temperatures yet, they have a slightly bigger impact on our bodies than when we've had a couple weeks of warmer weather, so we do expect people are going to feel this," says Henderson.
She adds that the primary risk of the hot weather is getting heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
"The human body likes to be 36.6 degrees," she says. "You want to keep an eye on the signs of overheating...headaches are often one of the first indicators of your body telling you that it's getting too warm."
Henderson says hot weather is especially concerning for seniors.
"As we get older, our bodies are less able to thermo-regulate and that's the process the body uses to keep that core temperature at 36.6 degrees," she says.
Recent findings from the coroner's report into the heat dome revealed nearly everyone who died was indoors and most were seniors, many of whom lived alone.
"We do want to keep an eye out for older people in warmer weather because they're going to have a harder time staying cool than younger and healthier people," says Henderson.
Henderson is also warning people who plan to get outside this weekend to be careful of the sun.
"It's the first real sun exposure of the year so remember a hat, sunscreen and long sleeves if you're really sensitive to the sun."
Henderson is also warning hikers that with the warmer temperatures, also comes the risk of snow melt.
"There's still quite a lot of snowpack in the mountains and that's going to start melting really quickly, so we're looking at potential flooding in some areas," she says.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Penny Daflos
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.