It hit 42 °C today, which breaks the old high temperature record by an impressive 11 degrees. Tomorrow’s high is forecast at 35, which will feel almost mild in comparison. I decided to go for about a 15-minute walk down to the park when it hit 42, just to see what it felt like. My observations, in handy list form:
- Opening the front door of the condo building is like opening the grate on a furnace
- The breeze feels like it is burning my face
- My eyes are hot; this feels hugely weird
- Heat radiates from the pavement, less so from the sidewalks
- After about five minutes, the metal on my Apple Watch is starting to get hot against my skin
- I am sweating like I am running, yet I am merely walking
- Kids are still running around and screaming; presumably they are magically immune to heatstroke
- The idea of going for my usual 7+ km walk today seems equal parts foolish and ludicrous–I do not go
- Coming back and opening the door to our condo unit and getting hit by the cool breeze of the air conditioner is really, really nice. Like, super mega-nice.
- I secretly wonder if I’ll be finding out what it feels like when the temperature goes above 42 °C–and how soon that might be
- At least I don’t live in Lytton
Quote on Lytton from CBC News today:
As of 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Lytton had hit 47.9 C, according to Environment Canada. For context, that’s hotter than the hottest temperature ever recorded in Las Vegas, at about 47.2 C, and almost eight degrees higher than Lytton’s record high before this year.
