With temperatures reaching record levels these past few days, people are desperately trying to find ways to stay cool.
Unfortunately, more than 60% of local residents do not have air conditioning. And unless you are in a newer home or already had one, you are out of luck as most quickly sold out this past weekend.
So with temperatures sky-rocketing and warnings in place, people in Metro Vancouver have had to find other means to stay cool. As a result, many are booking stays in hotels, and others looking for a quick cooling centre are flocking to malls.
RELATED: Metro Vancouver Temperatures Are Higher Than India’s Hottest Cities
Hotels Are Fully Booked
Many local hotels have reported at capacity over the past few days.
A recent search on Booking.com for a hotel room for the night in Vancouver showed the message “76% of places to stay are unavailable for your dates on our site”.
Similar messages showed for many other Metro Vancouver cities, including Richmond, Burnaby, New Westminster, and Langley. All have the message that 80% of places already booked up.
Malls Are Packed
A similar trend is seen at the mall, as the cheaper instant relief of air conditioning during the day.
It seems as though the risks of heat exhaustion greatly outweigh the risks of getting COVID-19, because people came in groves to get out of the heat.
The Amazing Brentwood saw a packed house on Monday, with many people wandering around the food court looking for a place to settle and work for the day. Similar crowds has been seen at other malls over the weekend.
While others are taking to social media on how they’re coping with the heat
It’s so hot I was able to bake cookies in my car! #VancouverHeatWave #vancouver #BCHeat pic.twitter.com/nnClrHVRiB
— Kirstin Ridout (@KirstinRidout) June 28, 2021
They like their ice blankets 😂👌🏽 a bunch of wet towels thrown in the freezer. #vancouver #heatwave pic.twitter.com/boo0LASORq
— Devon (@DevonO7) June 26, 2021
#Vancouver #HEATWAVE
Yup, it be Hot pic.twitter.com/APHhDGa1IM— Joe King (@BunnyVenom01) June 28, 2021
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