Jul. 3, 2021
The ongoing heat wave across Western Canada and the US Pacific Northwest has been described as a “once-in-a-millennium” event, with temperatures in Portland, Oregon reaching 116 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, Seattle, Washington reaching 108 degrees over the weekend, and 116 degrees in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Among the highest temperatures reached was in the town of Lytton, British Columbia, which breached 121 degrees Fahrenheit. On Monday, people were evacuated as several wildfires tore through the town.
Such temperatures are unbearable for human life, as evinced by the hundreds of people who have so far died. This includes at least 486 “sudden and unexpected” deaths between Saturday and Wednesday and another 60 fatalities in Oregon have been linked to the heat and more than a dozen in Washington.
Continue reading at www.wsws.org
Hundreds of deaths blamed on heat wave in U.S. and Canada
Jul 1, 2021
Hundreds of deaths in Canada and the U.S. are being blamed on a historic heatwave broiling the West.
About 100 deaths have been confirmed so far in the Western U.S., while in British Columbia, Canada, nearly 500 sudden deaths have been reported. Officials believe the fatalities are likely linked to the extreme weather.
“I worried that people were just going to think of it as a nuisance but it really has been life-threatening,” said Multnomah County health officer Dr. Jennifer Vines.
Continue reading at www.cbsnews.com
B.C. Wildfires: Lytton evacuated as ‘catastrophic’ fire destroys ’90 per cent’ of village
Jul 02, 2021
A search continues for some residents of Lytton that have not been accounted for after a blaze destroyed the village overnight.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said that 1,000 people fled the town on Wednesday evening after a fire erupted suddenly in the downtown core.
Farnworth said the people had gone to several communities to the north, south and east and that all evacuees were being traced. These communities include Lillooet, Ashcroft, Spences Bridge, 100 Mile House, Kamloops, Chilliwack, Kelowna and Merritt.
Continue reading atedmontonjournal.com
Heat dome planted over Alberta and Saskatchewan as more record temperatures expected
Jun 30, 2021
An unrelenting heat wave is gradually moving east across the Prairie provinces Wednesday, and parts of western Canada could again reach record-breaking high temperatures.
Much of British Columbia and Manitoba, parts of the Northwest Territories and all of Alberta and Saskatchewan are under Environment Canada heat warnings.
To blame is what meteorologists have called a heat dome; ridges of high pressure hovering over the Prairies that create an effect much like a pressure cooker.
According to David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment Canada, the heat dome is “a long term kind of thing … this one has legs.”
Continue reading at www.cbc.ca
