Swiss people in Canada are suffering from 50 degree heat

Canada is yet to have one of the worst heat waves. More than 500 people have died in just six days. Officials believe that number will continue to rise. According to officials, about a thousand people in western Canada have already had to leave their homes due to wildfires.

The temperature remains at an extreme level of around 50 degree Celsius. And even for the next few days, Peter offers no remedy to Canadians. “When the temperature was around 40 degrees, we had to pull up the curtains and we put sheets on the windows so the sun couldn’t shine,” a Swiss couple in Canada told Nauch.

Daniel and Kate Von Kennel live in Victoria on Vancouver Island. There he runs the Victoria Swiss Society. “At the moment the heat wave is over, the temperature is back in the normal range between 22 and 26 degrees.”

But a few days ago he was different. Both do not have air conditioning. “But our fans ran without a break.”

“On the second day of the heat wave, we had to sleep in the basement. We also took cold showers several times a day,” says von Kennel. On the third day they went to eat in the restaurant. “Cooking at home was impossible in the heat. We were lucky because many restaurants had to close temporarily.” It was very hot and therefore it was impossible for the staff to work in the kitchen.

Lili Sen of Interior Swiss Club in Vernon, British Columbia has lived in Canada for 51 years. She tells Nau.ch: “Just yesterday we had 32 degrees in the shade again, so time to jump in the pool.”

The fire spread across the country is really dramatic. «It is really very sad that people have lost everything. Sometimes they don’t even have enough time to take anything with them.”

Ursa and Juliet Fricker live in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver. He leads Vancouver Village Music. “We live on the coast and have survived the maximum temperature so far. Still, some days the temperature remained above 30 degrees. The maximum was 37 degrees.

Because the climate is relatively humid, the temperature feels very hot. “We took it easy during this and were mostly at home. Above all, we ate easily. We even made Bircher Muesli! And of course drank plenty of water!”