As southern and central Quebec experience their fourth day of a heat wave that began on Monday afternoon, people can expect to breathe a sigh of relief when cooler temperatures set in later Thursday.
This week, parts of the province were hit by daytime temperatures above 30 C that felt hotter than 40 C due to humidity.
But the situation is about to change: temperatures will start to drop gradually across the province on Thursday afternoon, reaching the high 20s in the next few days.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Montreal and the surrounding areas including Laval, Valleyfield and Vaudreuil.
The federal department has issued the same warning for the Eastern Townships.
It said severe thunderstorms are expected to come with strong winds that can “toss loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches off trees and overturn large vehicles.”
The department advised to go indoors when you hear roaring thunder.
“It’s going to be the end of the heat wave today. We’re expecting the passage of a cold front.… It’s going to reach the area of Montreal around 4 p.m. today,” said Michèle Fleury, a meteorologist with ECCC.
She said most regions in Quebec broke heat records on Wednesday.
But this isn’t the end for this season. Fleury said Quebecers will experience more heat waves throughout the summer.
Public health in ‘intervention mode’
Montreal’s public health says it is investigating some potential heat-related deaths while police and fire departments are checking in on people.
“We’ve gone into intervention mode — the higher intervention level … because we’ve had several reports of heatstroke and some deaths that we’re investigating,” said Montreal Public Health director Dr. Mylène Drouin on Radio-Canada’s Tout un matin.
Cities across the province took steps to help residents cope with the heat, with Montreal opening many of its outdoor swimming pools earlier than usual and Quebec City extending the opening hours of some of its community centres until 9 p.m.
As the heat continues to affect vulnerable populations, Drouin said many shelters are offering services and air-conditioned spaces to homeless people.
“We are really asking the public and, obviously, public places to … show tolerance if homeless people need to cool down,” said Drouin, adding that she wants to “make sure these people are protected.”
A Montreal ‘heat lab’ could be the key to finding out why it affects people differently.