The vagaries of the weather have not finished assigning the daily life of Quebecers this week. Tuesday, Environment Canada issued a heat warning in southern Quebec.
The temperature could reach 33 degrees Celsius, and almost 40 with the humidx factor. All combined with poor air quality and the promise of new thunderstorms.
“The heat and the SMOG, these are two events that are not necessarily linked to each other,” says Julien H. Pellerin, meteorologist at Environment Canada. High temperatures are due to a hot and humid forehead that sweeps southern Quebec, from Outaouais to Center-du-Québec, while poor air quality is linked to forest fires in Western Canada.
“Today, tomorrow and Thursday, it will be very hot, very humid, before the passage of a cold front on Thursday, with thunderstorms probably very violent,” said André Monette, head of the meteorology department at MétéoMémédia. Difficult for the moment to know if the sectors hard hit by the rains on Sunday will receive as much precipitation, but “the same regions are in the zone at risk,” he adds.
South Quebec is also struggling with an air quality index that exceeds 80 in certain sectors, an index considered “bad” for health. “We are not in values that are extreme [comme en juin dernier]but still. We are in rates that are well high according to normal. There is an issue for more vulnerable people, ”says Julien H. Pellerin.
Montreal’s public health recalls that the presence of SMOG combined with high temperatures represents a risk for people with respiratory problems, elders, pregnant women and young children. These people should avoid physical activities outside and keep their windows closed.
Montreal public health also recommends that the population drink a lot of water and remain in fresh or air -conditioned places. She suggests activating the “indoor air” function of air conditioners to avoid bringing pollutants into the interior of a room, and regularly get news from the people more at risk of undergoing the impacts of current weather conditions.
