{"id":789643,"date":"2026-07-09T03:16:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T03:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/789643\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T03:16:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T03:16:11","slug":"how-nunavummiut-kept-cool-during-an-abnormal-heat-wave-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/789643\/","title":{"rendered":"How Nunavummiut kept cool during an ‘abnormal’ heat wave this week"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

In Iqaluit, Jazmine Akeeagok was dressing a little differently this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I’m used to wearing sweatpants and like, a sweater or a T-shirt during the summer, but I’m in shorts right now,\u201d she said on Tuesday, laughing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Heat waves are rare in Nunavut, even in mid-summer, but Environment Canada issued a heat warning for Sunday and Monday in Iqaluit. The temperatures hitting 25.1 C on Sunday, which was a new daily temperature record for July 5.\u00a0On Monday, the high was 24.4 C in Iqaluit.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, daily temperature records were also set in seven other Nunavut communities including Arctic Bay, Igloolik and Kinngait.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Akeeagok called the heat “very abnormal.” \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s really different,\u201d she said. \u201cWe’re definitely experiencing climate change first hand, and it’s pretty crazy and sad to see.”<\/p>\n

Chloe Katsademas, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, says the heat wave is connected to the warm weather down south, and that Sunday was a period of “abnormal heat” across Nunavut.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We haven’t been above 22 C on July 5th since 1948,\u201d she said. \u201cNow, our July 5th this month, we got 25 degrees \u2014 that breaks a record for that date.”<\/p>\n

\"BoysYoung Iqalummiut enjoy the warm weather on Tuesday with some cold drinks. (Rafael Ferraz\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Though Sunday broke a daily temperature record, it wasn\u2019t the hottest day on record in Iqaluit<\/a> \u2013 that was July 21, 2008, with a sizzling high of 26.8 C.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sunday was the sixth-warmest day on record in Iqaluit, with records in the area having been kept since 1946. <\/p>\n

By Tuesday the heat had eased, with Iqaluit seeing a daytime high that day of 18.4 C. <\/p>\n

Finding ways to stay cool<\/p>\n

The heat saw Iqalummiut finding ways to cool off. Gordon Alainga said he was enjoying and taking advantage of the warmer weather.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI went swimming, actually,\u201d he said. \u201cI went to Road to Nowhere with my buddies, just spent the day out there. It’s pretty hot outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alainga was also wondering whether he should buy a fan for his home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little too hot in there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ryan Akeeagok, Jazmine’s brother, said he was also spending time outdoors, in the water, and having barbecues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve been swimming at Road to Nowhere,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cIt’s like warm, but not warm. It’s like a cold plunge. It feels so good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jazmine said she was also finding ways to stay cool.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"YoungJazmine Akeeagok said she ditched her sweatpants for shorts earlier this week in Iqaluit. (Rafael Ferraz\/CBC)<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, our boat is broken right now. So we’re all watching the boats go by,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe heat is definitely crazy. We’re all in our shorts. We’re pulling out our clothing for our summer vacations. It’s like we haven’t had to do this in forever.”<\/p>\n

Lesedi Mokoena says her home doesn’t have air conditioning, so she tried to keep the windows open and used a fan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“At home, it’s really, really hot. Everyone’s wearing shorts and everything,\u201d she said. \u201cThe heat just hits my face really hard.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":789644,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-789643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=789643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/789644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}