The first summer heat wave of 2014 is in its last sweltering day.
The Lower Mainland’s medical health officers, the Fraser Health Authority and Coastal Health issued warnings to the public.
There was also an air quality warning, as high concentrations of ground-level ozone are expected to persist for several days. The readings spiked in Maple Ridge, Agassiz and Hope.
People with asthma and other lung conditions, the elderly and young children are warned to avoid strenuous physical activity.
Ground-level ozone is a cocktail of organic material and pollutants from vehicle exhaust reacting with heat. Cooler weather will bring a reduction.
Fraser Health advised people to seek out cool places, stay hydrated, and to check on friends and loved ones during the heat wave. Thirst, dizziness, confusion and even fainting are all symptoms of heat exhaustion.
Andrew Pinch and his children Daniel, Kalyn and Tristan set up a stand in a shady corner of Memorial Peace Park on Friday to hand out free lemonade and water to passerbys.
The family enjoys doing “random acts of kindness” and plans to continue spreading love with good deeds throughout summer. They made 16 litres of lemonade.
“It’s a scorcher,” said Pinch, as Kalyn, 9, poured a glass of chilled lemonade for a woman.
“You’ve got to keep people cool.”
Hot weather will continue today (Wednesday), with a high of 29 C forecast. But that will dip to 25 C on Thursday.
Then rain and cooler temperatures, in the low 20s, are forecast for Friday, right through to Tuesday.
It has been a hot few days: July 14 hit a high of 34 C in Maple Ridge, July 13 was 30.4 C, July 12 was 31.7 C and it started on July 11 with a comparatively gentle high of 28.2 C.
There is a wildfire threat in the dry interior of B.C., where temperatures were nudging close to 40 C in the Thompson-Okanagan region.
UPDATE: An air quality advisory was lifted Tuesday evening for eastern parts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. It had been in place since last Sunday.