It feels hot, soupy and sticky out there: it's a Montreal summer

The air is sticky and soupy all at once. It's classic Montreal humidity for those who have lived through it before.

And the heat and humidity are expected to blanket the province, the forecast says, for at least four more days.

Environment Canada has issued heat warnings for Quebec and Ontario until Thursday.

That explains all the action at the Valois Park splash pad on Tuesday. The Pointe-Claire cooling destination was popular as was the water works at Pine Beach Park in Dorval as families try to beat the heat.

Parent Sean Millet, who was supervising his daughter and friends as they scampered and splashed about, said, "They love it, but we'll see how long they stay out here today. I’m here for the long haul, though.”

STAY COOL, STAY SAFE

But cooling down one's body temperature is more than just fun, of course, it's the safe thing to do, because children, especially young children, can get overheated easily, said the trauma director of the Montreal Children's Hospital.

“You should never leave your child in a hot car. Be very vigilant about not leaving a child even if you're running in somewhere. Same thing goes for pets," Febbie Friedman said.

Seniors are also, particularly at risk, said Dr. Mitch Shulman, an emergency physician at the MUHC. he suggests that family members and friends check on seniors to see how they're coping.

“The elderly are especially vulnerable, and they're vulnerable for all sorts of reasons. One, they may be less mobile. Two, they may just not sense the heat as well as we do. Three, they may not be able to cool themselves down as well and this could be a problem in terms of underlying medical conditions. It could also be because of medications that they're already taking," he explained.

If you need some ideas for how you or your family can cool down, the City of Montreal website has a map of indoor spots you can visit.

People who work outdoors like gardeners and construction workers are cautioned to take breaks, avoid direct sunlight whenever possible and stay hydrated, which is good advice for everyone.

Now the heat is one challenge, but David Phillips of Environment Canada says the high humidity makes it extra uncomfortable. He said don't expect much relief when you're trying to sleep.

“Any warm bouts we had before, we had kind cool nights," he said, "but the nights are going to be warm, about 20-22 degrees so a lot of tossing and turning when you get those kind of conditions," the veteran weather expert said.

"These are the dog days of summer, get used to it. This is summer in Canada," said Phillips.