EXTREME temperatures in Canada made news around the world last week as citizens dealt with the extreme heat.

One person affected by the extreme heat was former Impartial Reporter journalist, Meadhbh Monahan – a native of Coonen who now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC) working as a Communications Manager.

Temperatures have cooled down slightly in Canada, but it was a long, hot few days as Meadhbh explained.

“The extreme heat has subsided slightly this week; it's currently in the mid-20s, with a slight breeze.

"I keep the doors and windows open, with the blinds closed and two fans on. I’ve also been keeping a cool facecloth on the back of my neck, day and night, in a bid to stay cool.”

In Vancouver, during the heatwave temperatures were around 35 degrees, with humidity making it feel like it was in the 40s – a sharp difference for locals, more used to summer temperatures usually around 15-19 Celcius.

Many buildings in Vancouver don’t have air conditioning, with the heatwave leading to a lucrative market for air conditioning on websites such as Craigslist.

Maeve said: “Air conditioning units are currently sold out, and people were selling them on Craigslist for $2,000!”

Daily life was difficult for people during the heatwave, coupled with dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic, so Meadhbh is working from home, which has made daily life harder than usual.

She said: “I found it very difficult to manage daily life during the heatwave. I tried my best to power through on Monday, but it was difficult to breathe, never mind concentrate on calls.

"I made sure to never use the oven last week as it would have added to the heat in the home.

"My friend and I attempted to find a restaurant with air conditioning to kill a few hours on Monday evening, but could not find anywhere with availability after searching for two hours, as the whole city was doing the same thing – seeking out an air-conditioned space.”

Meadhbh continued: “My employer was very understanding, and told employees without air con to take it easy. My office has not been open to the majority of employees since March, 2020, but I [went in and] booked a 'hot desk' [to pick an unassigned workspace] for Tuesday due to the heat and they agreed as a one-off.”

Other parts of life in Canada were disrupted. Meadhbh said: "A few friends in construction were given the day off on Tuesday because it was unsafe to work outside, and another friend booked three nights in a Vancouver hotel in order to stay cool.

"This was common – all hotels in Vancouver were sold out, at a cost of $300 per night. Schools were closed, along with some restaurants and immunisation clinics.”

Agriculture in Canada also suffered as a result of the heat wave. Meadhbh said: “Farmers desperately tried to cool barns to prevent chickens from dying, dairy cows produced less milk, and raspberry farmers saw their crop wither on the vine."

Temperatures topped the records at 49.6C in Lytton, BC, which had disastrous consequences as wildfires forced 1,000 people from their homes last Wednesday, and fire destroying most of the historic village, killing two people.

BC Coroners Service reported 719 sudden deaths last week, with Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe saying: “We are releasing this information as it is believed likely the extreme weather BC has experienced in the past week is a significant contributing factor to the increased number of deaths.”

Experts believe that climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves.