Canada has experienced a never seen before temperature in years.
Parts of Canada has recorded its highest ever temperature as the country’s west and the US Pacific north-west frazzle in an unprecedented heatwave. Could this be the effect of global change?
According to officials, an 84-year-old record was broken On Sunday in Lytton, British Columbia as temperature soared to 46.6C (116F). A “heat dome” – static high pressure acting like a lid on a cooking pot – has set records in many other areas.
Earlier on, the US and Canada have both warned citizens of “dangerous” heat levels that could persist this week. Experts say that climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves. However, linking any single event to global warming is complicated.
BBC forecaster Nick Miller says that “heat dome” isn’t a strictly defined meteorological term but has become associated with describing large areas of high pressure, leading to clear skies and hot sunny days. The longer the high pressure pattern lasts, the longer the heatwave is and temperatures can build day by day. This high pressure zone is huge, from California right up to Canada’s Arctic territories and stretching inland through Idaho.
Sales of air-conditioners and fans have surged, and cooling shelters have sprung up. Some bars and restaurants – and even a swimming pool – were deemed too hot to function .
Lytton, which is about 150 miles (250km) north-east of Vancouver, surged past the previous Canadian record.
That was set in two towns in Saskatchewan – Yellow Grass and Midale – back in July 1937 at a balmy 45C (113F). Lytton was not alone. More than 40 other spots in British Columbia set new records.
Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips told CTV: “I like to break a record, but this is like shattering and pulverising them. It’s warmer in parts of western Canada than in Dubai.”
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He said there was a chance of topping 47C somewhere, with Monday the likeliest day.
British Columbia’s power providers said there had been a surge in demand for electricity to keep air-conditioners running. Environment Canada said Alberta, and parts of Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, should also be on alert.
In its warning, it forecast a “prolonged, dangerous, and historic heatwave will persist through this week”, with temperatures 10C-15C above normal, at near 40C in many places.
Fruit growers have been rushing to pick crops, fearing the heat could shrivel cherries and other fruit. Pickers have been starting at dawn and stopping at lunchtime in the unbearable temperatures.
According to BBC News, the Pacific north-west has also been breaking records, particularly in parts of Washington and Oregon states. The US National Weather Service called the heatwave conditions “historic” and said they would persist through the week, “with numerous daily, monthly and even all-time records likely to be set”.
Portland shattered its prior record when temperatures reached 44°C, according to the US National Weather Service. Seattle also passed a historic high as the mercury hit 40C.
Oregon eased Covid attendance restrictions to open up swimming pools and air-conditioned areas like shopping centres. But Seattle in Washington had to close one pool because of “unsafe, dangerous pool deck temperatures”.
