It wouldn’t be summer without the threat of heat stroke.

The condition strikes with little warning when the body’s cooling system fails.

The condition, “can be life threatening and symptoms include high body temperature, hot, dry skin, lack of sweating, fast pulse, confusion and a loss of consciousness”, according to the About.com website

This catalogue of symptoms could be handy to review, seeing as yesterday’s high was 29 C and today’s is supposed to be 27.

Combined with humidity, these temperatures have cause the town to issue a heat alert that will be in effect until tomorrow at 6 p.m.  

If you don’t have air conditioning, cooling centres will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Angus Glen (3990 Major Mackenzie Dr. East), Armadale(2401 Denison St.), Milliken Mills (7755 Bayview Ave.) and Centennial (8600 McCowan Rd.) community centres.

If you want to go outside, outdoor pools at Rouge Community Centre at 120 Rouge Bank Drive in Box Grove and Morgan Park on Parkway Avenue in Markham village are open today and tomorrow from 1 to 8 p.m.  

Also, water play areas are open from 9 a.m. until dusk this weekend at:
• Ashton Meadows Park, Unionville,  at Woodbine Avenue and Calvert Road;
• Beaupre Park, Milliken Mills, at Denison Street north of Coxworth Avenue;
• Benjamin Marr Park, Cornell, east of Ninth Line, south of Pascoe Drive;
• James Edward Park, Milliken Mills, at Elson Street, east of McCowan Road;
• Simonston Park, Thornhill, on Simonston Blvd. and Don Mills Road;
• Milliken Mills Park, Milliken Mills, at 14th Avenue, east of Birchmount Road;
• Millenium Park, Markham, at Town Centre and Cox boulevards; and,
• Tomlinson Park, Box Grove, on Boxwood Crescent., west of 9th Line, south of 14th Avenue.