The heat hanging over Vancouver Island will likely stick around until the end of the week, according to Environment Canada, but don’t expect temperatures to keep escalating like they did during last summer’s heat dome.
Some heat records were broken Tuesday on parts of the Island, including Port Alberni area weather station, which hit 37.7, beating the 1971 record of 36.7 C. The Malahat station beat its 1996 record with a new record temperature of 33.2 C.
Temperatures recorded at the Victoria International Airport reached new heights Tuesday as well, with a high of 31.5 C replacing the old record of 30.5 recorded in 2019.
But Bobby Sekhon, a meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, says the temperatures we’re seeing now are generally five to 10 degrees lower than during the June 2021 heat wave. “We’re not quite at an extreme heat emergency, as the health sector calls it.”
Even if the region stays below last year’s deadly temperatures, the heat is still dangerous, Sekhon said.
“We are still in a heat warning,” he said. “And we know that’s when we start to see real impacts from heat-related illness. We need to take extra precautions when we do have heat warnings out.”
Some have found creative ways to keep cool.
Jo-Marie Naysmith and her husband, David Naysmith, are welcoming passers-by to mist themselves with a homemade contraption at the end of their driveway on Runnymede Place in Oak Bay.
David attached a hose to a mister Jo-Marie purchased to keep their grandchildren cool last summer, and added a friendly sign that reads: “We’ve mist you.”
“I saw some bikers stop, and someone with their dog,” Jo-Marie said. “It’s absolutely there to appreciate people — not just our neighbourhood — but our community.”
Demand for fans and air conditioners hasn’t reached the same level suppliers saw last year, said Lorna Wilson, assistant manager at Oak Bay Home Hardware.
“It’s not as bad as last year. The heat was extended for over a long period of time — this year it’s not the same,” Wilson said, adding that the store has sold roughly 40 fans and air conditioners in total.
“Last year they were walking out the door every five minutes.”
It may not be as hot as last summer, but Lake Cowichan Tubing, which rents tubes for floating down the Cowichan River and offers a shuttle back to the lake, is in the midst of a busy week — and expects it to get busier as the B.C. Day long weekend approaches.
“It’s either feast or famine at the moment,” said owner Aaron Frisby. “The first three weeks of the season were pretty slow because the weather hadn’t been great and now we’re getting hammered.”
Frisby said the company will bring in more staff for the long weekend. “On the weekend there’s thousands of people going down the river.”
The City of Victoria announced Wednesday that it was opening its three cooling centres in response to the ongoing heat warning.
The air-conditioned, staffed locations include Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, open from noon to 9 p.m. until Friday, the Salvation Army ARC, open 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. until Friday, and the Cook Street Village Activity Centre, open from noon to 9 p.m. until Saturday.
For those who can’t stand the heat, relief is in sight.
The high-pressure ridge is moving into the Interior, said Sekhon, and the Island will likely start seeing cooler temperatures by early next week.
“It’s remaining hot for the rest of the weekend, still warm over the weekend and maybe getting closer to the average by early next week,” he said.
