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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Toronto calls heat alert

The City of Toronto has issued its first extreme heat alert of the summer.  The City of Toronto has issued its first extreme heat alert of the summer. (CBC)

Toronto has declared its first extreme heat alert of the summer вЂ" while city services are virtually shut down by a civic workers strike.

Temperatures are forecast to reach 30 C on Wednesday and to stay in the high 20s for the next three or four days. The heat alert, the city says, will stay in place until further notice.

However, many of the city-run cooling centres вЂ" where residents and their pets can cool off and get a cold drink вЂ" are closed because of the strike by 24,000 municipal workers.

Instead the city is telling people to go to "make use of air conditioned shopping malls and local libraries as places to cool off."

A section of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre will also remain open 24 hours a day during the time the alert is in place.