Ottawa under special weather statement due to heat

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for Ottawa, the valley and Gatineau on June 5.

According to the weather agency, the nation’s capital and the surrounding area can expect the first one-day heat event of the season to begin Wednesday afternoon and end on Thursday.

The statement says temperatures will peak on Wednesday to 31 to 32 C and overnight lows will be 20 C by early Thursday morning. With a humidex temperatures could reach 37 on Wednesday.

If the temperatures do reach the high expected it could break a heat record of 30.6 C that was set in 1967.

“These conditions pose a health risk when you are not used to the heat,” the statement reads.