Extreme cold warning issued for the region

MERRITT – There is an extreme cold warning that has been put in place for the region this morning (December 22).

Environment Canada said wind chill values of -35 or below will continue throughout the morning. This is being caused by a very cold arctic air mass settling over the region.

According to officials, the temperature will begin to slowly rise again this afternoon and over the next couple of days.

With the extreme cold, Environment Canada released health symptoms to watch out for, including:

• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Muscle pain and weakness
• numbness and colour change in fingers and toes

They said there is also an elevated risk of frost bite and hypothermia during this time.

Officials also remind the public not to forget about the furry little ones as well. If it’s too cold for you to stay outside, it’s too cold for your pets to stay outside.

Other regions included in this extreme cold warning are:

• Elk Valley
• East Kootenay
• East Columbia
• Yoho Park – Kootenay Park
• North Columbia
• Kinbasket
• North & South Thompson
• Shuswap
• North & Central Okanagan
• Fraser Canyon
• Similkameen