Paramedics urge caution as temperatures rise across Lower Mainland

While most of B.C. remains under a special weather statement as the summer's first hot weather rolls through, the advisory has been upgraded to a heat warning for the Lower Mainland.

Environment and Climate Change Canada issued the warning for Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Howe Sound Sunday morning, saying it's expected to be in place through Monday.

In the wake of last year’s deadly heat dome which claimed the lives of hundreds of British Columbians, the BC Centre for Disease Control, Fraser Health, and Vancouver Coastal Health all took to social media urging people to take the heat warning seriously.

"The precautionary things like hydration obviously, shade, sunscreen...those are the standard precautions we do recommend. Avoiding extended periods of time in the direct sunlight,” said Troy Clifford, president of the Ambulance Paramedics of BC.

Clifford said in addition to a potential spike in heat-related illnesses, paramedics will likely be kept busy with more accidents, falls and water incidents because of the nice weather.

He urged people to be cautious, especially around lakes and rivers, and anywhere alcohol is being consumed.  

For most of the region, temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-to-high 20s near the water and the low 30s farther inland, but the Fraser Valley is expected to see daytime highs close to 34 C and overnight lows in the high teens, according to the warning.

That combination of highs and lows meets the criteria for a heat warning, Environment Canada said, noting that elevated temperatures increase the risk of heat-related illness.

BEATING THE HEAT

Some local residents who live in homes without air-conditioning are getting creative to beat the heat.

Rowen Robson’s fourth-floor East Van unit faces south and the sun starts beating on the windows around 7:00 a.m. and heats up his apartment throughout the day.

“It gets pretty warm,” he said as he showed CTV News an air-conditioning unit he fashioned out of an old beer cooler and some supplies he picked up at the hardware store.

The small device uses a pair of fans to cycle air around several ice packs inside the cooler before expelling it back out into the room.

"So, we've got two pipes here and it basically blows the air underneath the ice packs and re-circulates and then it shoots it back out and hopefully it's a little colder than normal,” he said.

Robson already had the cooler and estimates he spent about $90 on the other components.

The hot weather also means an increase in snowmelt in the mountains and increased streamflows in local rivers and creeks due to runoff, the weather agency added, urging people to seek localized information from the B.C. River Forecast Centre and Avalanche Canada.

"Temperatures are expected to return to near-normal values by the middle of next week as a cooler, unsettled airmass pushes onshore," Environment Canada said.

A heat warning is not the same thing as an extreme heat emergency, which is what the province experienced during the record-breaking heat dome last year. 

Both scenarios can cause heat-related illness, however, especially for children, the elderly and other vulnerable members of society.

Environment Canada reminded British Columbians to watch for the effects of heat-related illness, such as "swelling, rash, cramps, fainting, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and the worsening of some health conditions."

"Drink plenty of water even before you feel thirsty and stay in a cool place," the agency said.