‘It’s overwhelming’: Montrealers cope with heat wave hitting city

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Sitting in what little shade she could find outside a laundromat in Montreal’s east end, Raymonde Gauthier said she took all necessary precautions ahead of the sweltering heat that swept through the city this week.

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Gauthier, 84, cooked his meals ahead of time, made sure his blinds were drawn before dawn, and blocked up a small window pane in his apartment with old billboards he found nearby.

But, she said Wednesday, she would be lying if she said the heat hasn’t affected her.

“It’s overwhelming,” Gauthier said, waiting for his comforter to finish washing on the inside. “Forty degrees (…) makes no sense.”

After a warm spring, Montreal is experiencing its first real heat wave of the summer this week, forcing people to scramble to stay cool amid humidex values ​​of 40 C and putting some of the most vulnerable at risk. from the city.

At Urgences-santé, a spokesman said that the emergency services began noticing an increase in calls related to the heat wave last weekend. On Sunday alone, nine people were treated in Montreal for heatstroke symptoms such as dizziness, feeling weak or fainting.

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“Compared to other countries, I think here we are less aware of the risks associated with heat,” spokesman Stéphane Smith said. “But for older clientele or people with heart or respiratory problems, it’s really not easy for them.”

To help beat the heat, the city of Montreal has begun opening cooling stations in public buildings with air conditioning and extended hours at pools in some of its hottest neighborhoods.

Two weeks ago, the city also opened its first “Piscinette” in the downtown Ville-Marie district, hoping to address known heat islands in the area.

The pilot project is a small saltwater pool in an open-access shipping container. Capped at 20 people, the pool is also surrounded by hammocks, Adirondack chairs, and shaded areas to cool off while not swimming.

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During a lunchtime visit on Wednesday, the pool was being used by a handful of residents and available staff said lines have formed most afternoons since opening to access it.

In an interview, Ville-Marie City Councilor Robert Beaudry said the idea was to offer an alternative to a community pool that the city could install much faster and at a lower cost.

“It’s an area where we have a tremendous amount of heat islands, and it was a need expressed by many families,” Beaudry said, noting that the pool is located next to an industrial parking lot.

“I think the heat that we’ve been experiencing in the last couple of days is a reminder of the need for everyone to be able to cool down,” Beaudry added, “and to have equity in terms of access.”

Throughout the city center, Montrealers could be seen huddled in the entrances of air-conditioned malls and huddled under trees and in shady corners of parks. But for some whose jobs required them to work under the scorching sun, there was no way to escape the heat.

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In mid-afternoon, Yonis Said-Gagné could be seen removing his helmet to plunge into the water fountains on the Place des Festivals. Said-Gagné, in his 20s, was part of the team putting the finishing touches on the outdoor stages and decorations for the Just for Laughs festival.

“It’s a bit rushed on the last day to get everything ready, but it turns out it’s 40 degrees outside,” Said-Gagné said, drying her wet hair. “You take a lot of breaks and make sure you hydrate.”

While the heat may be inconvenient for some, it is also dangerous for many, including the city’s homeless population and those living in isolation. Hot spells killed 106 Montrealers in 2010 and another 66 in 2018.

At the St. Michael’s Mission shelter, staff handed out bottles of water and food, inviting people in need to come inside to cool off in the air conditioning and take a shower to cool off.

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“We really just make sure everyone is okay,” Supervisor Dave Duverger said. “And if they don’t do well, we make sure they can cool off.”

Sam Watts, executive director of the Welcome Hall Mission, said that during especially hot days, the organization will work closely with Montreal police and paramedics to make sure anyone seen struggling in the heat is treated quickly.

But Watts said the heat is particularly dangerous for people living alone in precarious housing situations. Statistics show that those who die during heat waves, he added, often live alone in difficult situations, with no air conditioning and no one in their social circle to check on them.

He called on everyone to be a little kinder during the extreme heat.

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“We all need to be a little bit more vigilant in our neighborhoods to know who might be at risk,” Watts said. “I think that can go a long way.”

According to Simon Legault, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, the Montreal region had a hot spell in May, including a day when humidex levels reached 39 C, but this week is considered the “first real heat wave” of the summer.

Legault said the high temperatures are the result of a heat wave that has swept across the northern part of the United States and is now hitting Quebec.

Wednesday should be the “peak” of the wave, he added, with temperatures expected to drop later this week.

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