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Scorching temps to continue all week

Southwestern Ontario is in for a second straight week of sweltering temperatures.

A heat warning for the entire region will remain in place for the next five days. Environment Canada is forecasting daytime highs each day of above 30 C, which will feel more like the low 40s with the humidity.

To make matters worse, there will be little relief from the heat overnight.

"Not only are the daytime highs going to be warm, but it is also the overnight lows," said Gerald Cheng, a meteorologist with Environment Canada. "We are going to be hovering around 20 C or just slightly above [at night]. So it is going to be warm during the day and at night."

For those without access to air conditioning, the prolonged stretch of hot and humid weather will be really stifling and unbearable, added Cheng.

While the extreme heat affects everyone, young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with chronic illnesses are at greater risk of heat-related illnesses. Air quality could also deteriorate due to the humidity. A special air quality statement is already in effect in the Windsor area.

Average daytime highs for this time of year are around 26 C, with average overnight lows of 14 C.

The heat warning has been in effect for much of southwestern Ontario since July 1.

Cooler air isn't expected to move into southwestern Ontario until Saturday, at the earliest. The weekend forecast currently calls for temperatures in the high 20s.

"It does look like the jet stream will dip a bit and bring in a system that will give us more showers, more unsettled weather," said Cheng. "That could also mean cooler temperatures, but it is certainly not a guarantee and we are continuing to monitor how this is going to evolve."

There is a chance of showers and thunderstorms for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. However, whether scorching conditions will lead to severe storms remains unclear.

"There is always a risk when the heat and humidity are there. Those are the necessary ingredients for thunderstorm development," said Cheng. "Thunderstorms are always so isolated and so we can only forecast ahead of time that there is a chance and then we have to watch the sky, we have to watch the radar to see if anything develops."

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