At least 233 people died between Friday and Monday in the Canadian coastal province of British Columbia during a continuous summer – more than double during the period. officials announced. A connection to extreme heat is evident in Canada and the northwestern United States. On Tuesday, the Canadian Meteorological Service set a new national temperature record in Lytton, British Columbia, for the third day in a row: the temperature there rose to 49.5 degrees Celsius.
“British Columbia is in the midst of its hottest week ever,” said John Horgan, head of the province on the country’s west coast. He called upon people to beware of the risk of keeping cold compresses in the refrigerator and staying in the coldest part of the house.
People try to cool off on the beach – like here at Willow’s Beach
Canada recorded the hottest temperature in the country for the third day in a row since records began. “Vancouver has never seen heat like this, and unfortunately dozens of people die from it,” Police Chief Steve Edison said.
Cool down in air-conditioned centers
Several air-conditioned centers have been set up in the city of Vancouver where people can take shelter from the heat. Still, 65 people have died in the west coast metropolis since Friday, including several elderly people, the national police authority announced. “While it is still under investigation, heat appears to play a role in most of the deaths,” a police officer said. Many deaths occurred in other communities as well.
The environment ministry issued a warning to several provinces that “the ongoing, dangerous and historic heat wave will continue this week”.
America is also moaning from the heat
The US cities of Portland, Oregon and Seattle in the northwest of the United States have also recorded the highest temperatures since records began in 1940. Air conditioning and fans were sold in many places. Some were looking for protection from the heat in underground garages or in their air-conditioned cars.
Even in Portland, people and their animals take shelter from the heat in air-conditioned buildings.
The phenomenon of “heat dome” is responsible for extreme heat. This means that the high pressure in the atmosphere keeps the warm air in the area. According to Washington Post meteorologists, this heat dome intensity is “statistically so rare that it can only be expected on average once every few thousand years”. However, man-made climate change “made these types of extraordinary events more probable”.
JMW/STI (AFP, DPA)
