Record-breaking heatwaves kill hundreds in Canada; warnings issued

30-06-2021 : People are finding their relatives dead upon visiting their homes- that’s the situation of Canada as dozens are dying due to the scorching heat. The weather has reached the nation’s highest ever recorded with 49.6 degrees C in Lytton, British Columbia on Tuesday. Lytton is a small village located around 250 km east of Vancouver.
Breaking records, Canada witnessed the death of at least 233 people in the West Coast province alone in 4 days (Friday to Monday). More reports are being filed and the number is expected to increase, police said.

Cops in the Vancouver area said the death reports mostly belonged to elderly people and those with comorbidities with heat being the trigger factor. However, many others are also dying due to the rise in temperature. The heat is feared to affect older people, infants, and young children the most with severe or fatal results, Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe said.
Though it is difficult to connect a single occurrence to global warming, the climate change of Canada is likely to shake the temperature scale and increase the frequency of extreme weather events, experts warned.
Greg Flato, a senior research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, Victoria, said the Pacific Northwest heatwaves usually remain showered with rain and not scorched by the sun, however, the ongoing episode is due to a high-pressure system that isn’t moving. This is a dome of static high-pressure hot air enveloping the area from California to the Arctic territories. Though coastal areas are seeing a bit of relief, inland areas are hardly getting a break from the heat.