For weeks, the heat has suffocated much of the northwestern United States and western Canada, two regions that routinely experience much cooler temperatures. Temperatures of more than 45 ° C have been reached for several consecutive days, with exceptionally warm nights.
In addition, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in a statement, during these days so many temperature records have been broken that it is very difficult to keep track. In Lytton, the town of British Columbia notorious for having suffered a devastating fire as a result of the heat wave that has scorched one in ten houses, they have reached 49.6 ° C. This extreme heat is more typical, according to the WMO, of the summer in the Middle East, and not of a region that is home to the Rocky Mountains and the Glacier National Park.
As of June 28, the province of British Columbia has broken 43 historical records: “The Northwest Territories have recorded their highest temperatures of all time, not only in June, but at any time of the year,” explains Armel Castellan, a meteorologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada. “ The minimum temperatures at night are being higher than the maximum temperatures that we usually have at the beginning of summer, and this is a big problem because, in addition, we do not have infrastructure to withstand this heat. Less than 40% of homes have air conditioning, people have to go to libraries and shopping centers to be outside for a couple of hours. I have been sleeping in a tent to have a break, ”he explains.
This unprecedented event has caused many deaths and is having multiple impacts: heat stress on people, animals and vegetation; poor air quality; forest fires; possibility of landslides caused by the melting of glaciers in the mountains ; damage and malfunction of infrastructure and transport systems not prepared for such high temperatures.
Rest of the northern hemisphere
In the United States, more than fourteen million citizens live in areas with extreme heat warnings, and several cities have broken their historical records for heat, for example 41.7 ° C in Seattle or 44.4 ° C in Portland.
North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Eastern Europe, Iran and northwestern India are also experiencing an extremely hot onset of summer. Maximum daily temperatures exceeded 45 ° C in many areas and 50 ° C have been reached in the Sahara.
Western Russia and the areas around the Caspian Sea have also experienced unusually high temperatures due to the continued presence of a large area of high pressure. In some parts of the region, including Moscow, temperatures are expected to reach 30 ° C during the day and stay above 20 ° C at night.
According to the WMO note, these conditions are occurring in a context of human-induced climate change, with global temperatures already 1.2 ° C higher than in pre-industrial times.
“ Heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense as concentrations of greenhouse gases cause global temperatures to rise. We are also noticing that they start earlier and finish later and are taking an increasing toll on human health, ”said Omar Baddour, Head of WMO’s Climate Policy and Monitoring Division.
