Memoirs from the BC Heat Wave

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As I struggle to focus and do my coursework in the heat, in front of a fan, between misting myself, I thought... what a perfect time to reflect on a historical time for BC and how it relates to social media. 

On Monday, British Columbia set multiple temperature records and reached record high temperatures for June. In some areas in BC, the temperatures were 90° F- 114.8° F. In my area, the temperature high on Monday was 90° F.  


For those that may not know, it is uncommon to have air conditioning in homes, townhouses and apartments in BC. Few homes have built in AC because, it never gets hot enough to need it (until this June).  Fans and air conditioners are sold out or out of stock across BC. Any place that has AC like community centres, malls, larger restaurants, have been packed with people and hotels are sold out. People have been bringing towels and blankets and 'setting up camp' on mall floors across BC. Designated cooling centres have been advertised and broadcasted for anyone needing relief. Public health and the SPCA have been sending out messages and announcements on how to keep yourself and your pets safe during the heat. BC is not prepared for this kind of heat. 

How do I know about all of this when I have not left my house? Social media! Twitter, TikTok, Instagram.  I have been able to stay connected and feel a sense of community during this time. While the heat is hard to handle and escape from, there is comfort knowing that you are not alone. 

My family was in shock with how hot it was and how hot our house soon became, even with our fans going and shades down. I spent some time on Twitter, scrolling through the hashtag #BCHeat and it felt nice to be connected and see how others are handling the weather. I showed some funny memes to my family and shared some of the news articles with them. I came across this tweet that made me laugh and I showed it to my mom: 

My mom said "it's nice when people take a hard situation and make light of it, it makes it easier somehow knowing that we are not the only ones experiencing this event" 

I replied with "that's the whole point of social media!" 

I noticed Tweets of encouragement and people coming together to help each other and local animals and insects, like this post  about the bees and birds needing water in the upcoming heat wave


I even tweeted myself! 


I also used social media to get ideas on how to stay cool. The frozen wet towel in the freezer was an idea I saw on Twitter and it helped keep my puppy safe. Based on what I read on Twitter from local news and residents, I realized that upstairs was not safe for our dog when it reached higher than 85° F.   We relocated our dog to the basement (which remained a lovely 80° F, the coolest place in the house) and took shifts misting her to keep her damp and changing her wet frozen towel. 



While the heat seems inescapable and these hot days are continuing, I am thankful for the memes that make me laugh, the tools that allow me to connect and participate in a shared experience, the encouragement received and the ideas shared online!

 

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