“Historic” heat wave hits record highs on Canada’s west coast

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Record temperatures are scorching America’s west coast and parts of Canada amid what the National weather service proclaims a “historic and unprecedented heat wave” – ​​and the summer brisk has not even reached its peak, AccuWeather reported.

More than 20 million people in six states are on heat alarm from the NWS. Dozens of record daily temperatures were broken in states from Washington to California on Saturday. Further north, the heat wave set a national record in Canada on Sunday: Lytton, a village in British Columbia, reached around 45 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit), beating the country’s previous all-time high of 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius). ) in 1937, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Temperatures are expected to rise even higher in certain locations on Sunday and well into Monday, with this week covering areas east of the Cascades, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington state, much of Idaho and the west from Montana “no relaxation in sight” according to NWS.

“After record-breaking heat was felt over the Pacific Northwest and the northern Great Basin on Saturday, even hotter temperatures are forecast for the entire region today and Monday,” says a Sunday bulletin. “In Washington and Oregon, including the densely populated areas west of the Cascade Mountains, temperatures are forecast to be 20 to 30 degrees above average. Heights in the three-digit range will significantly increase the risk of heat-related illnesses. “

In short, the Pacific Northwest is simmering a heat dome, which is created when a kind of lid is created by high pressure circulation in the atmosphere, which prevents hot air from escaping. Such an intense heat dome is so rare that such an event would only be expected once in 1,000 years CBS meteorologist Jeff Berardelli. Another meteorologist, Scott Duncan, predicts that some of the hottest places in the world will be in the Pacific Northwest this year.

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Portland, Oregon, had its hottest day on Saturday with temperatures of 42.2 degrees Celsius the NWS. However, this record did not last long: On SundayThat said, temperatures rose to a new high of 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44.4 degrees Celsius). The city has its own all-time high so far of 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41.7 degrees Celsius) in 1965 and 1981.

On Saturday, the NWS said temperatures in Salem, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington reached 40.6 degrees Celsius, each city’s monthly high temperature record for the month of June. Seattle, Washington, reached 102 degrees Fahrenheit (38.9 degrees Celsius) on the same day. a record for June. Salem Airport climbed to 44.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday, breaking an all-time record of 42.8 degrees Celsius the NWS.

Temperatures in Canada are expected to peak on Monday and reach up to 45 degrees Celsius in British Columbia CBC reports. On Saturday, Fraser Valley broke 40 degrees Celsius for the first time to date. Residents in the Pemberton Valley north of Vancouver have been ordered evacuate as rising river levels caused by melting snow in the midst of all this unprecedented heat flood the area.

In much of the Pacific Northwest, even morning lows will exceed the region’s average highs, which only shows the “anomalous nature of this historic heatwave,” the NWS reported Saturday. The last time the region even remotely felt this type of heat was in July 2009, when temperatures ranged between 38.3 degrees Celsius and 41.1 degrees Celsius for two to four days the Agency. The hottest part of the year usually falls in late July, so the fact that we see all-time records drop when summer has just started isn’t a good sign, to say the least.

The NWS advises people in areas with unprecedented high temperatures to stay hydrated, stay indoors as much as possible, and avoid prolonged sun exposure. Rising temperatures have plagued the west coast in recent weeks. Drying out of the reservoir, Curtain hydropowerand worsen the effects of impact widespread droughts across the region.

As devastating as this heatwave was, it’s just the beginning. Have thousands of temperature records already broken this year and experts predict The climate crisis will further increase the likelihood of heat and mega-droughts this century, so the records are unlikely to last long this weekend.

Update: June 27th, 2021, 8:37 pm: Updated with the latest record breaking statistics for the Pacific Northwest and Canada.