#MicroblogMondays: It's summertime! Where's my happy medium??

Summer officially arrived here on Friday. And as if to remind us of that fact, it started getting warmer almost immediately. 

Like, a LOT warmer.  TOO warm.  

Environment Canada issued an extreme heat warning that began on Saturday night and is expected to last through Tuesday and possibly Wednesday in some parts of Ontario.  

Saturday was pretty warm & humid, but not extremely so. I noted in my datebook that the peak temperature was 25C, which felt like 32C when the humidity was factored in (the "humidex"). (That's about 77F & 90F.)   

Yesterday, however, the temperature outside soared to 35C, with a humidex value of 46C ( = 95F and 115F) -- which is pretty hot any time during the summer hereabouts, but especially for June!  Officially, we tied the all-time record humidex value for June (records date back to 1953).  Inside our condo unit, the air conditioner was running nonstop -- but the temperature in our unit went from our pre-set norm of 74F to 77F (about 23C to 25C).  (Canada is officially a metric country, but in reality, it's still more of a hybrid -- especially among people of my generation -- and dh & I keep our home thermostat in Fahrenheit.) 

Today's peak temperature reached 36C (almost 97F), and the humidex was 44C (111F). Our air conditioned unit reached 78F (about 26C -- the last time I looked...!).  Unofficially (it won't be confirmed until tomorrow), today is the hottest June 23rd in Toronto history. (The previous record -- which we've already passed -- was 32.8C in 1921 and again in 1983.) 

How hot is it?  It's so hot that our property manager posted a message this afternoon that yes, the building's cooling system IS working!  BUT it's working at capacity -- and they've asked us to keep our curtains and blinds drawn during peak sunlight hours to reduce indoor heat gain and help the cooling system maintain optimal temperatures during this heat wave. (We've done this, and we've also been running the fan feature of our air purifier/humidifier. Needless to say, we are NOT using the humidifier right now!!)  

It's so hot that -- even though the City of Toronto has explicitly suggested citizens use the recently-opened public swimming pools (on top of other ways to cope with the heat), some pools have been unable to open, or stay open, because lifeguards are refusing to work (!).  

Schools, however, are still open -- despite the fact that most of them are older buildings and do not have air conditioning. In fact, just 177 of the 579 schools under the Toronto District School Board have central air conditioning. Most of those that don't do have at least one air conditioned space, such as the library or gymnasium, where students can go to cool off.  

This is the last week before summer vacation kicks in, and one story I saw noted that attendance is lower than usual. It's possible that some parents are keeping their kids at home in air-conditioned comfort (what actual learning goes on in the last week of school anyway??), while others may have started their summer vacations early.  The board is not closing schools because it would put working parents in the lurch without childcare. Instead, teachers are opening windows (assuming classrooms have windows, and windows that can be opened), holding classes in shady spots outside, cycling groups of students through the few air-conditioned spots in the building, encouraging students to stay well hydrated, etc.  

As someone without kids, I don't have a dog in this hunt, as the saying goes -- but I do feel sorry for the kids (and the teachers!) who have to endure this kind of extreme heat and humidity.

(Suffice to say, the schools I attended in the 1970s were not air conditioned -- most houses weren't either, of course -- but then again, I don't remember this kind of extreme heat back then, before we knew what "global warming" was. There often WERE a few very warm/hot days at the beginning and end of the school year, but we were expected to suck it up -- and did. (This was also long before people walked around with water bottles in hand -- if you were thirsty, you went to one of the hallway fountains, or bought a can of pop from the machine, or from the canteen in the lunchroom.  And of course, you were NOT allowed to drink it in class!)  I do remember some lectures from the school principal about proper dress on hot days. I don't ever remember wearing shorts to school -- I don't think we were allowed, outside of gym class (granted, the shorts in those days WERE pretty short! -- this was the era of "Daisy Dukes," after all...!) )   

I keep saying, "There has to be a happy medium??" (Wasn't I just complaining about the cold, snowy winter?)  

But if there is, I'm not seeing it...

If you're interested, here's a link to the Toronto Star's ongoing live news feed with updates about the heat wave. 

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.