Frigid temperatures linger in Montreal

Montrealers are facing another day of frigid temperatures. Early Wednesday morning, -12°C with a wind chill making it feel like -28°C, and a slight improvement to -18°C later in the day.

Although the sun will shine Wednesday, the cold will continue into the evening with light snow expected to begin overnight, keeping temperatures steady around -12°C and still feeling like -18°C.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) advises anyone heading outdoors to dress warmly to avoid the risk of frostbite.

Urgences-santé could not provide CityNews with the number of frostbite cases or calls related to cold weather since temperatures dropped sharply on Monday because it is not possible for them “to isolate a reliable data.”

“We can, however, say that for all calls that are outside, the cold makes it more difficult for patients and paramedics (car accidents, falls, unconsciousness etc.). The key in extreme cold is prevention,” a corporate spokesperson for Urgences-santé said in an email statement.

Freezing temperatures have made work difficult for construction workers, many of whom still continue to work outside. Even while wearing multiple layers and thick gloves, Marc Étienne, who works at a site near Stanley Street and Sherbrooke Avenue, still has to take breaks every two and a half hours to warm up.

“I still feel (the cold) all the same,” Étienne said.

Public transport delays have also left commuters with little respite from the cold, according to Mama Nii-owoo, who takes her son to daycare each morning. She said that one of the hardest parts of her morning is waiting in line outside when her bus is late.

“If you’re depending on public transport in the cold, it’s awful,” Nii-owoo said. “I mean, there have been times when I just felt we shouldn’t be going to daycare.”

Tips to avoid frostbite

Urgences-santé says the best ways to prevent frostbite is by wearing warm, layered clothing, and warns that children and the elderly are very susceptible to cold weather.

Montreal cardiologist and epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos echoed that advice.

“Make sure that you cover up the areas that are most at risk for frostbite, and that includes your fingers, your nose, your ears, and make sure those are covered up,” Labos said. “And limit the amount of time that you spend outdoors. And most importantly, if you’re going to be outdoors, try to avoid things like alcohol and tobacco. A lot of people think that alcohol is going to warm you up. Actually, if anything, it’s going to do the reverse and make the risk of hypothermia and frostbite even greater.”

If there are signs of frostbite — redness of the exposed skin, swelling, pain and tingling or numbness — Urgences-santé provided the following tips:

• As soon as the first signs appear, get out of the cold;
• Slowly remove the clothing covering the affected area;
• Gradually warm up the affected area with your hands or with another warm part of the body;
• Dip affected area in lukewarm water. Do not use hot water;
• Lightly move the affected joints and articulations to improve blood flow;
• Do not rub the affected area or warm up with a direct heat source.

Urgences-santé adds anyone with frostbite concerns can call Info-Santé 8-1-1 to speak to a nurse, but to call an ambulance if you think you are in danger of losing a limb.

“Frostbite is essentially a much deeper tissue injury,” Labos said. “So if you have pain, if you have burning in your extremities, you should probably go to the hospital to get checked out. The reality is that in most cases when you see frostbite, it’s coupled with hypothermia. And so you have to treat the underlying hypothermia by rewarming the patient. And then you look to see if there’s any tissue injury that we would call frostbite.”

CityNews spoke to some more Montrealers who were braving the cold Wednesday.

“It’s really cold in the morning, really, really cold, but just the wind, you have to dress really warm,” one person said. “It’s very cold right now, but I’m getting used to it now. It’s my third year, but it’s annoying when you have to wake up early to go to classes for university.”

“In Montreal, I mean, nothing changes,” said another. “You just keep going. You have to wake up, you know, and just kind of give yourself a pep talk and just get going.”

“You have to be well dressed, then move,” added a third.

Looking ahead, Thursday will bring light snow and slightly milder temperatures, with a high of -8°C and wind chill factors reaching -17°C in the morning and -11°C by the afternoon.

As we head toward the weekend, a mix of sun and cloud on Saturday and a high of -6°C. However, flurries are possible, with a 60 per cent chance of snow on Saturday night, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

–With files from Zach Cheung