Having a heat wave: Some love it, others put up with it in Nunavut

This story was updated at 8 a.m. ET.

Some people tolerated the extreme heat while others really enjoyed the uncommon warmth in Kitikmeot and Kivalliq communities over the weekend.

“It’s been more of a positive because people are getting out more, doing more things with their family, fishing and going to the beach,” Krista Matthews, mental health and crisis response co-ordinator for the hamlet of Cambridge Bay, said in an interview Monday.

Over the past week, the heat wave pushed temperatures in some hamlets above 30 C and led to eight Nunavut communities getting Environment Canada heat warning alerts.

The Government of Nunavut issued public health advisories last week warning of extreme heat expected in Kugluktuk and Kugaaruk.

Kugluktuk ended up hitting a high of 30 C on Aug. 9, the hottest day, while the high in Kugaaruk that day was 24.7 C, Environment Canada reported.

The average temperature in August is 9 C in Kugluktuk and 6.5 C in Kugaaruk.

Along with the heat, communities like Kugluktuk and Gjoa Haven also received some smoke from wildfires to the southeast that turned the sun orange, Byrne Richards, community living director in Kugluktuk, said in an interview Tuesday.

Those who went indoors to escape the heat found little relief if they kept their windows shut to avoid breathing the smoky air, said John Ivey, Kugluktuk’s SAO, in an interview Monday.

Some people turned to the COVID-19 pandemic habit of wearing masks outdoors.

“It just seems strange, we don’t have any trees and yet we are having to tolerate all this unhealthy forest fire smoke,” Ivey said.

Despite the discomfort, there were no major health concerns reported as a result of the heat wave, Richards said, and many in Kugluktuk still managed to enjoy it.

“It just slowed everything down,” he said.

The elders centre could only make macaroni salad for visitors because workers didn’t want to heat up the building even more by using the stoves, Richards said.

“Overall, it dominated the conversations and the attitude of people, but they did best they could,” he said.

Environment Canada’s forecast for Kugluktuk through Monday calls for temperatures ranging from 18 C to 23 C with lots of sun.

In Kugaaruk, it calls for temperatures ranging from 8 C to 15 C with rain likely on Wednesday.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the average temperatures for Kugluktuk and Kugaaruk in August.