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The hot temperatures make Canadians worry about the impact of climate change on a country bordering the Arctic.
British Columbia has closed schools, issued a flood warning caused by melting glaciers, and urged people to stay indoors as extreme high temperatures have pushed temperatures in western Canadian provinces to national records.
On Monday, in a province where less than 40% of households have air conditioning, social media posts about keeping cool without air conditioning went viral on social media.
Lytton, a small town in central British Columbia about 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of Vancouver, reported a temperature of 46.6°C (115.88°F) on Sunday. According to data from the Canadian Department of Environment and Climate Change, before the weekend, the highest temperature in history in Canada was 45°C, which was set in Saskatchewan in 1937.
Greg Fratto, senior research scientist on environment and climate change, said that sustained high temperatures are unusual for the Pacific Northwest, which is more accustomed to prolonged rainfall than sunlight, and is caused by a static high-pressure system. . The Canadian headquarters is in Victoria.
“The temperature during the day will get very hot, they will not cool down most of the night, and they remain relatively stable, which is different from the common weather events on the west coast… weather events across the Pacific Ocean [Ocean] And sweep us,” Fratto said.
“It makes people aware that the climate is changing. For a long time, science has been telling us, but really immerse in it, because we are here and have to sleep in the basement to keep it cool-it really brings us home. .”
Other Canadians also expressed concern about the impact of global warming on countries bordering the Arctic.
“Climate change is a public health emergency, and we need to treat it like a public health emergency,” Sonia Furstenau, leader of the BC Green Party, said on Twitter. “B.C. now faces the reality of extreme weather events or forest fires every summer.”
‘Weather Steroids’
David Phillips, a senior climatologist at Environment Canada, told CTV News that climate change tends to make heat waves and other weather events more unstable and extreme, describing them as “weather steroids.”
BC broke the record for the most 911 calls received because emergency operators received approximately 8,000 messages on Friday.
The authorities of BC have issued a series of flood monitoring notices in response to increased snow melting. Natural Resources Canada warns of “extreme” wildfire risks.
“The temperature is in uncharted territory,” said Yan Boulanger, a forest ecologist in the department. “The indices of forest fires are very, very high now.”
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