Calgary breaks all-time heat record with 36.4 C

Calgary hit a record-high temperature Friday, following a week of blistering temperatures.

The mercury hit 36.4C shortly after 5 p.m., Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor told CBC's The Homestretch.

The record to break was36.1 C, reached on July 15, 1919, and again on July 25, 1933.

It was still 35 C as of 10 p.m.

Meanwhile,farther south in Medicine Hat, residents wereexpecting a high of 40 C, Environment Canada said.

Most of Alberta south of FortMcMurrayremains under a heat and/or smoke warning.

The heat wave Western Canada is experiencing is typical of heat waves around the world, said DavidPhillips, a senior climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. A high pressure area is lingering over the region, blocking other weather systems from coming in, and, in turn, getting blocked from moving away.

Since May, Calgary has had consistently high temperatures, and that's expected to continue into September.

Extreme heat can cause health problems for many, but certain people are more at risk than others, said Dr. Eddy Lang, Alberta Health Services' Calgary zone emergency medicine head.

"We have to keep in mind that it's young children, toddlers and the elderly that don't have the same mechanisms for releasing heat that young healthy people do," he said. "They're more likely to get into trouble with their body temperatures rising and feeling unwell due to the high heat."

He recommends parents keep children in the shadeand maybeturn on the sprinkler. Runners should take a break during the hottest hours, and Lang suggested people check if their medications affect how they handle heat. Some can reduce your ability to sweat, for example.

Environment Canada recommends people watch for signs of lack of sweat, confusion, fainting, high body temperature and unconsciousness, which may indicateheat stroke or heat exhaustion. Health Canada also offers aseries of tipsto help people prepare for and stay cool in heat waves.

'All about pacing yourself'

At the Country Hills Golf Course, assistant pro RyanO'Connellfound himself carrying a bag of 14 clubsin theATBFinancial, aPGACanada tour event.

"There's no really getting around it,"O'Connellsaid, in an interview onCBCRadio'sThe Homestretch. "It's a bit of a grind."

He hit the well-stocked refreshment tablesat every second hole. Asa caddy, he was allowed to wear shorts, although players must wear trousers.

"It's all about pacing yourself, knowing you're going to be out there for five hours,"O'Connellsaid. "No need to pass out on the golf course. That's not good for anything."

Brief break this weekend

This weekend,expect a slight break. A cold front is moving in to provide some "atmospheric air conditioning," Phillips said. Temperatures are predicted to drop to 24 C on Saturday and 19 C on Sunday with some rain.

"People can breathe again and it will be rejoiceful, but then next week ... the pattern we see and the persistence is likely to continue," Phillips said.

Temperatures won't be up in the 30s, but he said theywill remain a few degrees above normal into next month.

'Global fever'

The overall temperatures, for both days and nights, appear to be part of a long-term, worldwide trend, Phillips said.

"We know the evidence is clear, irrefutable:we're living through warmer times. You stick a thermometer in the planet, it is global fever," he said.

"What we're seeing now in the Northern Hemisphere, in 40 years from now, this is what we'll describe as summer not unprecedented, not 'oh my god, this isrecord-breaking.'"

Instead, he said, this kind of warmth will become "the lazy, hazy crazy days of summer."

"We know the trend is upwards andoutwards," he said. "Unless anasteroid hits the planet or we get into a very huge active volcanic period where we cool off, I think this is a pattern that we've seen."

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With files from the Calgary Eyeopener, Stephen Hunt and the Homestretch.