The historic heat wave that baked Canada’s western territories and the US Northwest, shattered all-time temperature records in usually temperate cities may have been the cause of hundreds of deaths in Canada and America.
While the heat has been blamed for a few deaths in the United States, at least 233 people died in British Columbia between Friday and Monday, according to reports, about 100 more than the average for a four-day period. Although the worst heat wave on record has subsided, officials have warned of even higher temperatures and the threat of wildfires.
Between Friday and Monday, at least 233 people died in British Columbia’s Pacific coast province. The heatwave has scorched crops across the Prairies, where farmers grow much of the world’s wheat and canola, pushed up natural gas prices in the world’s fourth-largest producer, and raised wildfire risks. Farmers in the prairies are already dealing with one of the worst droughts in recent memory.
The heat wave was triggered by a dome of high pressure over the Northwest, which was exacerbated by human-caused climate change, which is increasing the likelihood and intensity of extreme weather events. According to David Phillips, senior climatologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada, the heat dome stretching from California to Canada’s northern territories is weakening as it moves east, but it is still intense enough to set records from Alberta to Manitoba.
The cause of the dome is unknown, but given the heatwave’s duration, extremes, and the fact that it is setting new temperature highs a month earlier than the usual hottest time of year, Phillips believes climate change is a factor.
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