Monday was once again hot and humid in Quebec. In several regions, the drought extends. Very hot temperatures are announced on Tuesday, before the conditions improved on Wednesday.
Environment Canada has published heat warnings for many regions in the eastern country, including southern Quebec.
The temperature reached 35 degrees Celsius around 5 p.m. in Montreal, with a feeling of 41 degrees.
According to the federal agency, the heat and humidity will be there until the passage of a cold front, scheduled from Wednesday.
“Wednesday, it will be better for southern Ontario and southern Quebec, but for the Maritimes and the Gaspé, it will be necessary to wait until Thursday for the end of this heat wave,” said Gérald Cheng, meteorologist at Environment Canada.
“We hope that this cold front will eventually bring rain,” he says. “But temperatures should go back to the weekend again. »»
According to the meteorologist, it has been since July 17 that there has been no significant precipitation in southern Quebec. “And for Montreal, there are 0 mm of precipitation for the month of August,” he said.
With this drought, several municipalities have also published calls to the population to ask to limit the use of drinking water.
Work outside in suffocating heat
“We were in the middle of a dodge for a good six hours,” said Benjamin Paul, who oversees a small project of a dozen people in Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
Photo Édouard Desroches, the press
Benjamin Paul, Supervisor at Demonfort Landscape
Workers under his responsibility are between 23 and 56 years old. “Not everyone has the same heat tolerance, that’s for sure. I am used to that, but for others it can be more difficult, ”he says.
All day long, he let the workers of his team take breaks in the shade and cool off as soon as they needed them. “The goal is not that they have a discomfort!” He says.
“We raise awareness among workers during the heat wave so that they learn to spot the first signs [d’un coup de chaleur] “Recalls Simon Lévesque, head of occupational health and safety coordination at FTQ-construction.
This can range from unusual fatigue to dizziness or chills. It is then recommended to quickly take a break in a cool place and to hydrate yourself well, or even consult a doctor if the state of health is deteriorating.
Photo Édouard Desroches, the press
Construction workers on a site in Montreal
Simon Lévesque recalls that employers are also obliged to provide sufficient water and provide breaks, if possible in the shade or in an air -conditioned location, depending on the workload, sun exposure, temperature and humidity.
In figures:
Since 2016, in Quebec, there have been more than 175 professional lesions accepted by the CNESST linked to a heat stroke – not to mention the discomforts that have not been listed.
Source: Quebec Construction Syndicate
A increased risk of fire
The forest protection company against fire (SOPFEU) published last Thursday a noticeable opinion that the hot and dry conditions of the last days, combined with the absence of precipitation, dryed the vegetation.
“The territory has not been watered for several days. But the situation is less critical than elsewhere in Canada, because the relative humidity remains high, “said Philippe Bergeron, spokesperson for the Sopfeu.
Result: despite the drought, we observe relatively few fires in Quebec in the last days. “But the situation could evolve,” he warns.
The risk of fire was still “high” or even “extreme” on Monday for a large part of southern Quebec. According to the Sopfeu forecasts, the situation should improve on Wednesday for the regions north of the St. Lawrence, but remain critical for those located south of the river.
Hon if rafficid !
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Photo Olivier Jean, La Presse
Ali Chadi, Elena Meyer, Paul-Émile Landez and Yvan de Jacquelin came to enjoy the pond of La Fontaine park, Monday afternoon, to spend time with friends and above all, cool off. “The heat is hellish!” Ali says Ali. “I had to go run and dropped the heat,” adds Elena.
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Photo Olivier Jean, La Presse
Sumac Kudriavtsev has the habit of hanging his hammock between trees, to read and move away from the city at noise. “I have no air conditioning with us, so I go out, it’s lighter,” he says.
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Photo Olivier Jean, La Presse
Édouard Vanvlamertynghe, from the Paris region, regularly visiting Montreal to see friends. He took advantage of the fogger with his child on Monday at Parc La Fontaine, his spouse not far. The heat? “It’s okay, we know,” he replies with a smile.
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With the Canadian press
