North America scorched by record heatwave
OTTAWA: Swathes of the United States and Canada endured record-setting heat on Sunday, forcing schools and Covid-19 testing centres to close and the suspension of an Olympic athletics qualifying event, with forecasters warning temperatures could rise further.
The village of Lytton in British Columbia broke the record for Canada’s all-time high, with a temperature of 46.6 degrees Celsius (116 degrees Fahrenheit), said Environment Canada.
And in Eugene, Oregon, a temperature of 43.3 degrees Celsius (110 degrees Fahrenheit) forced organisers to postpone the final day of the US Olympic track and field trials, moving afternoon events to the evening.
On Sunday in Seattle, Washington state, the temperature hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), a record that surprised residents not used to warmer climes.
“Normally it’s probably like, maybe 60, 70 degrees [Fahrenheit] is a great day, everybody is outside in shorts and T-shirts, but this is like - this is ridiculous,” one city resident told AFP. “I feel like I’m in the desert or something.”
Another said: “You just stand around and you’re like - you can’t breathe, it’s so hot.”
Doug Farr, manager of the city’s weekly Ballard Farmers Market, said the site had to close early on Sunday because of the heat - something it normally only has to do for snow.
“I think this is the first time we’ve ever closed early because of the heat,” he said.
Oregon’s biggest city, Portland, hit 44.4 degrees Celsius (112 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday,
the US National Weather Service (NWS) said, breaking the city’s record set a day earlier.
Across the border in Canada, stores reportedly sold out of portable air conditioners and fans, while cities opened emergency cooling centres and outreach workers handed out bottles of water and hats.
Several Covid-19 vaccination clinics were cancelled and schools announced they would close on Monday.
Prolonged heat, hotter days ahead: Forecasters More than 40 new highs were recorded throughout British Columbia over the weekend, including in the ski resort town of Whistler.
And forecasters said hotter days were to come.
“A prolonged, dangerous and historic heat wave will persist through this week,” Environment Canada said, forecasting temperatures near 40 degrees Celsius in several regions.
It issued alerts for British Columbia, Alberta, and parts of Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.