These 4 workers have hot jobs. Literally. Here's how they're faring during a heat wave

Earlier this week, when Chris Green walked into his Inglewood workshop, in a garage with no air conditioning, it was already a toasty 30 C, he says.

Green is a bladesmith — a blacksmith who makes custom knives — and he spends his days in front of a forge hot enough to bend steel. 

As an experiment, he placed an oven thermometer within an arm span of his propane torch. Soon enough, he says, it showed a reading of about 135 C.

"Yeah, I'm sweating," said Green, the owner of Black Cat Metal, in a Calgary Eyeopener interview. 

"It's like being in an oven.… I'm continuously surrounded by stinking hot things."

The hot workshop has become a part of Green's everyday routine. But as the city and many surrounding areas remain under a days-long heat warning, he admits he does find himself shutting down early sometimes.

"I have to stop. It's just too dang hot. It runs the risk of heat stroke and dehydration and things like that."

The heat wave smothering southern Alberta is causing many workplaces to take extra precautions. The UCP government put out a release last week reminding employees to be safe in the heat while asking employers to watch for signs of heat stress among their crews — symptoms such as headaches, dizziness and muscle cramps.

The persistent heat felt in Calgary this summer is surprising to David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

"I think this has been the sort of exceptional kind of aspect of this summer where once it began, it has stayed the course," he said.

Although temperatures haven't broken records, it's remained consistently hot since mid-July. Calgary typically sees four or five days over 30 C each year, but the city has recorded nine days over 30 C in the past few weeks, with more seemingly on the way. Average daytime highs should be about 23 C this time of year.

When it comes to hot work conditions, Phillips says it's also important to keep in mind how the temperature is recorded.

"We measure temperature in the shade … otherwise, every time the sun comes out, the temperature would go up and down like a yo-yo," Phillips said.

"So instead of 30 degrees, it would be more like in the sun, 38, 39 degrees. So it's pretty oppressive."