Police in the Vancouver area state that they have been notified of over 130 sudden deaths since Friday, according to BBC. Most have been elderly or people with underlying health problems.
Record high temperatures have been measured, up to 49.5 degrees.
– It’s a wall of heat, much like an inferno, says Charles Daniel in Portland in the USA to the news agency TT.
He says that it is usually around 20-25 degrees at this time of year.
Daniel has previously lived in Texas and is used to the heat, but the last few days have been very special.
– It has been very humid. Usually it is not humid here, but a drier heat. But the humidity has made it feel as if you have just come out of a steaming hot shower at the same time as you are dressed in a wetsuit, he says.
Astonished meteorologist
The temperature began to rise on Saturday. Since then, heat records have been set every single day.
Canadian meteorologist Armel Castellan says he is amazed by the extreme heat.
– There really is no word that is enough for this. We are amazed at how big these records are, he tells the TV channel CBC.
Also outside the Vancouver area, the authorities have registered many unexpected deaths, but they have not yet provided any figures.
The heat wave extends from the US state of Oregon to Canada’s Arctic regions. It is caused by a high pressure that traps hot air in the area.
Portland and Seattle in the USA have not experienced such high temperatures since statistics began to be compiled in the 1940s.
Lasts out the week
In Canada, authorities are warning of extreme temperatures in British Columbia, Alberta and parts of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. According to the Canada Environment, the “prolonged, dangerous and historic heat wave” will last all week.
The US National Weather Service has issued a similar warning.
In Vancouver, the heat wave has forced schools and vaccine centers to close. The authorities have also established temporary water fountains and cooling stations on street corners.
The shops are sold out for portable air conditioners.
Climate change means that record high temperatures are becoming commonplace. The decade that lasted until 2019 was the warmest ever recorded, and the last five years have also been the warmest ever recorded.
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