“There is simply no exaggeration for this heat,” says a meteorologist. The country, not exactly known for its warm summers, is currently breaking records. The temperatures cause dozens of deaths.
A heat bell lies over western Canada. Heat records are broken in several places. At 49.6 degrees Celsius, Lytton in British Columbia reached the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada on Tuesday. Heat warnings have been issued for large parts of the country. These temperatures are especially dangerous for the elderly. A dramatic increase in heat-related deaths is reported.
“There’s no exaggeration to describe the heat,” says Armel Castellan, a meteorologist at Canada’s Ministry of the Environment. “We are just amazed at how often records are broken.” Lytton, a community in the valley of the Fraser River 260 kilometers northeast of Vancouver, had already reported a record of 47.9 degrees on Monday, and it was broken again on Tuesday. Until then, the absolute highest summer temperature in Canada was 45 degrees, reports the radio “CBC”: measured in 1937 in Saskatchewan.
In the Pacific province of British Columbia alone, seven locations reported more than 45 degrees, including Kelowna and Osoyoos in the Okanagan Valley, which is famous for fruit and wine growing. For some people in somewhat “cooler” cities, the reports from Lytton were apparently the reason to travel to this community. The chairman of the Lytton Chamber of Commerce spoke on Tuesday of “heat tourism”.
The heat bell is over the entire prairie, even Jasper is extremely hot with just under 40 degrees. The east is not spared. Temperatures well over 30 degrees were also reported there. In the capital Ottawa, the mercury column rose to 33 degrees and with the humidity prevailing there, a perceived temperature of around 40 degrees was calculated.
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Meteorologists and authorities are warning that the heat wave could continue over the weekend and into the next week. The elderly, children and the homeless are of particular concern. Castellan speaks of a “killer event” because the emergency services are already reporting a significant increase in deaths. In four days, 233 deaths were reported in British Columba, the average is 130 otherwise. In Vancouver 65 “sudden deaths” occurred, which are attributed to the extreme weather.
In the parks of the cities, the sprinklers run non-stop, not only to water the green areas, but to give people the opportunity to cool off. Many gratefully take the cooling shower. Community centers with air conditioning are used as cooling stations, water bottles are distributed and Canadians are asked to look after older neighbors who are particularly hard hit by the heat.
“We are in the middle of the hottest week British Columbia has ever seen,” said provincial prime minister John Horgan. He called for people to be looked out for who might be at risk. Ambulance services keep being called because people break down with heat stroke. The situation is exacerbated in many places by forest fires that worsen air quality.
According to the agency, the highest temperatures since records began there in 1940 were also measured in cities of Portland, Oregon City and Seattle in the northwest of the USA. Air conditioning and fans were sold out in many places. Some people looked for protection from the heat in underground garages or air-conditioned cars.
Climate researchers are always cautious about describing individual weather events directly as a result of climate change, as the causes are manifold. But they are convinced that climate change will make extreme weather conditions more intense and more frequent. “I’m shocked,” says Simon Donner, professor of climatology at the University of British Columbia. “We have to assume that we will see more extreme heat waves in the future because we are adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. To have such a long and so strong heat wave in Canada has never happened before. “
