Hot, humid temperatures continued to grip Winnipeg Sunday with “dangerous” heat — feeling like low to mid-40s — anticipated to last into Monday.
The nighttime temperature Sunday was expected to be close to record setting. The anticipated overnight low of 27 C would mark the second warmest on record in Winnipeg since a 28 C low was recorded during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, said a Winnipeg-based meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
“A hot day is one thing, but a hot night is a totally other thing. If you don’t have air conditioning, (Sunday’s) going to be the really hard night,” said Brad Vrolijk.
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Folk Fest attendee Miles Bruns, 32, from Madison, Wis., tries to keep cool on an extremily hot summer day by filling up his bucket hat with water from an outdoor shower at Birds Hill Provincial Park, Sunday.
Vrolijk also said it’s unusual is for such high temperatures to be combined with high humidity, calling the mix a “dangerous heat.”
“Your body temperature is 37, 38 degrees, so if the temperature feels like it’s warmer than that, you’re going to start to have trouble cooling,” he said, adding that when the “feels like” temperature reach the upper 30s, heat exhaustion or heat stroke becomes far more likely.
The temperature hit 35 C at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Winnipeg airport, Environment Canada said. The humidex at that time was 47.
Vrolijk said temperatures are expected to cool somewhat by Monday night, though he said it will remain hot throughout the week, with daytime highs around 29 C.
Sunday marked the third day in a row that Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a heat warning for Winnipeg, advising the public to be aware of the early signs of heat exhaustion, including headache, nausea, dizziness, thirst, dark urine and intense fatigue.
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Globally, heat-related illnesses are increasing amid the backdrop of rising temperatures. The World Health Organization says heat-related mortality for seniors increased by about 85 per cent between the periods of 2000-2004 and 2017-2021.
The organization also notes that over the past two decades or so, there have been about 489,000 heat-related deaths annually worldwide. In 2021, there were 619 heat-related deaths in British Columbia during a weeklong heat dome.
Certain people are at higher risk of heat-related illnesses, including children, infants and the elderly; pregnant women; people taking certain medications, such as some SSRIs; those with certain chronic conditions like asthma, lupus or multiple sclerosis; people who work or exercise outdoors; and those who lack air conditioning at home or who are homeless.
Earlier this month, End Homelessness Winnipeg released an Extreme Weather Summer Response Guide, which includes information on hydration stations, cooling locations and emergency help around the city. In a Facebook post, the non-profit urged residents to “read, download, print, post, and share the guide, especially with people who may not have easy access to digital information.”
Supplied
End Homelessness Winnipeg’s 2026 Extreme Weather Summer Response Guide.
Several events were canceled Sunday in Winnipeg due to the heat, including the Open Corydon street festival and a matinee performance of Jesus Christ Superstar at the outdoor Rainbow Stage. Others, like the Winnipeg Folk Fest and outdoor concerts at Assiniboine Park went ahead.
In an email Sunday, Erna Buffie, an environmental activist and writer in Winnipeg, emphasized the importance of trees in dealing with extreme heat.
“In areas like our treeless downtown, all that concrete and asphalt absorbs heat rather than reflecting it. That can can push temperatures up by as much as 3 C or more,” she said.
And it’s not just downtown, she said, adding that any neighbourhood lacking mature trees will also be much hotter.
“That’s why groups like Trees Please Winnipeg are urging (city) council to enact better protections for mature trees on both public and private land,” she said.
marsha.mcleod@freepress.mb.ca
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