People are investing in fans and shedding their clothes in an attempt to stay cool as the temperature hit 28 C yesterday.
“I bought $200 worth of fans,” said Cheryl Frohlich, 23. “I have four fans going in a 600-square-foot apartment.”
Leanne Martin, 25, has a simpler tactic.
“I sleep naked,” she said.
Taking humidity into account, it felt like 33 C around Metro Vancouver yesterday — unusually high for a city where mild summers are the norm.
With downtown condos built to attract sunlight during our long cloudy periods, indoor temperatures felt even higher.
While people can strip down or go out to air-conditioned offices, pets left behind in condos are vulnerable to the heat, according to Lorie Chortyk of the B.C. SPCA.
She said it’s well publicized that pets left in cars can die of heatstroke, but few think of them at home.
“In a condo, you want to make sure that drapes are drawn, and that fans are going to keep it as cool as possible,” she said.
People should also check to ensure their pets have fresh water before they leave for work.
