Hot, hot, heat: Warnings continue for much of the province
Just when you thought the province had made it out of the summer relatively unscathed from the unusual heat (for us), another heat warning has been issued by Environment Canada.
With Monday hitting temperatures of 28 to 32 C, hot weather is expected to continue into Tuesday with the humidex values to peak near 30 to 35 C.
No complaining, however, as we all know what's in store in the coming months. Brrrrr.
A hard day's work
Working outdoors can have its perks on the right day, but as temperatures climb it gets harder.
"It is what it is. We're used to it, we deal with it," Terry Badcock, part of a crew doing work on Topsail Road, told CBC on Monday.
"We take breaks, make sure we got lots of water and make sure we're hydrated. That's the main thing."
Workers also make sure they take care of each other.
"We'll take 10 minute rotations. We'll all be out for 10 minutes and then someone will go down and sit in the truck, cool down, get some cold water, a little bit of food," said Dylan Whelan, team lead of traffic control for the work site.
The Gathering Place
Nancy Elkins, volunteer co-ordinator at The Gathering Place, a St. John's outreach centre, says donations have been coming in the form of drinking water and their building is air conditioned for their guests.
But, she says, the heat can pose problems.
"Some guests have reported that they are now sleeping outside in the nighttime," she said.
"Some of them are staying by themselves, sleeping out underneath a tree, we know that's not a safe thing to do. So because of that we ask them to stay inside … at least for a little bit during the day they can get some relief."
Cooling off
For many St. John's residents, parks and pools offer the best relief.
Noreen Lewis said she first went for a walk through Bowring Park to look at the ducks and pigeons in and around the popular duck pond. Afterwards she took her grandchildren to Bannerman Park to enjoy cooling off in the outdoor public swimming pool.
"They'll spend an hour in the splash pad, then there will be an hour in the pool, then our job will be done. We'll take them home to the parents," she said.
Tiahna Carroll was also taking advantage of the Bannerman Park pool.
"I just really like to go swimming, I find that's something that really helps with the heat, or the sprinkler on the lawn … This is my first time coming here for swimming."
