Canada is experiencing its highest ever temperature as the country’s west and the US Pacific north-west frazzle in an unexpected heatwave.
For the first time in the country’s history, the record for extreme heat a second day in a row has been broken by a village in British Columbia, Canada.
The temperature on Sunday at Lytton, British Columbia was 46.1 C and worsened even more to 47.5 C on Monday.
Canada experienced a rise in temperature more than 80 years ago. It was in 1937 that Saskatchewan reported 45 C, thus, setting a record.
Currently, western Canada is facing severe heatwave. Heat warnings have been issued for all of B.C., Alberta, and parts of Saskatchewan.
Until tomorrow, B.C. might not expect the temperature to fall.
Alberta and Saskatchewan on the other hand are expected to stay hot until early next week.
This unusual event has resulted in rapid snowmelt in the mountains, thus increasing the risk of floods in some areas of southern B.C.
On Saturday, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, just northeast of Vancouver, issued an ongoing evacuation order for the village of Pemberton as the nearby Lillooet River continues to run fast and high.
“The automated snow weather stations within the region are nearly depleting with daily snowmelt rates of 45 to 65mm snow water equivalent per day,” the centre said on Monday.
Canada along with other U.S. states are struggling with unusually high temperatures. Moreover, these states are breaking their own records.
Cities in Portland, Washington, Wyoming, Utah, California, and Arizona have hit record highs this month alone.
While Arizona is now investigating 53 suspected heat-related deaths that took place the week of June 19.
Experts are often cautious of assigning specific weather events to climate change, but many of them think the heatwave is the result of it.
Furthermore, there is a common agreement that the climate crisis will cause more frequent and consistent extreme weather events.
According to David Phillips, a senior climatologist at Environment Canada – the duration and intensity of the current heatwave can be a result of rising global temperatures.
Experts are expecting more heatwaves like this one to occur more frequently in the upcoming years.
