Public Health Sudbury & Districts breaks down how the severe cold can affect you

The temperature is starting to warm up across northeastern Ontario but winter is still here in full force.

On Monday, many communities set new records for low temperatures. According to Environment Canada, in Sudbury, the temperature dipped down to  -37.1, breaking the 1925 record of -35.6. Timmins set a record of -39.1, well below the 1962 record of -37.8. The temperature in North Bay was at -36.5 beating the previous record of -33.3 in 1951.

"There are a number of cold related injuries that can occur when you're out in the cold," Moriah Thorpe, a health promoter with Public Health Sudbury & Districts said.

"Hypothermia and frostbite are the most common but they are also the most preventable injuries that we'll see in this weather."

Thorpe says hypothermia happens when someone is exposed to cold temperatures for a long period of time and they can't generate enough heat.

"In severe cases, it can cause death," she said.

"Some of the signs and symptoms you'll see are confusion, problems speaking, the body will be stiff [and] a lack of energy."

Frostbite happens when a part of the body freezes, she said. The first signs of frostbite include red skin that is cold to the touch. The person experiencing it will feel burning and pain in the affected area before their skin turns white or waxy.

"A lot of people tend to rub their hands together when they're cold [and] this is ok if you're just cold," she said.

"But as soon as the skin starts to get damaged or white, you can actually cause tissue damage."

Thorpe says people who have frostbite should put the affected area in warm water, not hot.

Dress according to conditions, cover exposed skin and to keep active without overdoing it.

"As soon as you start sweating, your body can't get warm again because you're wet," she explained.