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The agency’s report says 233 deaths were recorded between Friday and Monday, compared to an average of 130.
“Although the investigation is still ongoing, the heat has influenced many of the deaths,” said a police spokesman. Other communities also report many deaths, but official figures are not yet available.
On Tuesday, record air temperatures were recorded in Canada for the third day in a row. The heat in Liton, British Columbia, about 250 kilometers east of Vancouver, registered a heat of 49.5 degrees Celsius, said the country’s meteorological service Environment Canada.
“Vancouver has never been this hot and sadly dozens of people die as a result,” said Police Sgt. Steve Addison.
The Environment Ministry has warned several provinces that “a dangerous and historic heat wave will continue this week.”
Hottest week
Temperatures in Portland and Seattle on Monday had not been seen since observations began in the 1950s – 46.1 and 42.2 degrees Celsius, respectively, the National Weather Service said.
Extreme heat is caused by a phenomenon called “heat dome,” where high atmospheric pressure traps hot air in the region. According to meteorologists, the intensity of such a heat dome is “statistically so rare that it occurs on average only once in a few thousand years.”
Temperature records are increasingly being recorded due to climate change. The decade to 2019 was the hottest in the world in the history of observations. The last five years have been the hottest.
“We are going through the busiest week for the people of British Columbia, and there are consequences, catastrophic consequences for families and communities,” British Columbia Prime Minister John Horgan said at a news conference.
He asked “to take an interest in people who … may be at risk, make sure there are cold packs in their refrigerators, … be in the coolest parts of the house.”
The US National Weather Service issued a similar advisory urging people to “stay in air-conditioned buildings, avoid energetic outdoor activities, drink lots of water, and ask how family and neighbors behave.”
People sleep in cars
In the Vancouver area due to the heat wave, schools and COVID-19 vaccination centers were closed, and officials installed temporary fountains and fog stations on the streets.
Portable air conditioners and fans were quickly traded in stores. Several people told the AFP news agency that they spent the night in their air-conditioned cars or in underground parking lots.
Temporary cooling centers have been opened in cities in the western US and Canada, and water bottles and hats are being distributed to employees.
Extreme heat and drought sparked several fires over the weekend. A fire on the California-Oregon border burned 600 acres Monday morning.
“Dubai would be cooler than we are living in now,” David Phillips, an environmental climatologist at Environment Canada, told AFP.
