WEATHER
Scores dead as heatwave shatters records
June 30, 2021 - An unprecedented heatwave has smashed records across the Pacific Northwest and contributed to more than a hundred deaths in the Canadian city of Vancouver alone.
Canada broke its temperature record for a third straight day on Tuesday; 49.6C in Lytton, British Columbia.
In Vancouver, the police department said it had redeployed dozens of officers and asked the public to call 911 only for emergencies because heat-related deaths had depleted front-line resources and delayed response times.
The number of heat-related fatalities is likely to rise as some areas say they have responded to sudden death incidents but have yet to collate the numbers.
Temperatures in the U.S. Pacific Northwest cities of Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington reached levels not seen since record-keeping began in the 1940s: 46.1C in Portland and 108 in Seattle and 42.2C in Seattle on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
The scorching heat stretching from the U.S. state of Oregon to Canada’s Arctic territories has been blamed on a high-pressure ridge trapping warm air in the region.
- Canada weather: Dozens dead as heatwave shatters records (BBC)
- Scores dead as heatwave shatters records in Canada, United States (AFP)
- Sweltering heat wave linked to sudden deaths in Vancouver (AP)
- Canada heatwave: dozens dead as searing plus-40C temperatures grip west (The Guardian)
- Public Weather Alerts for Canada (Environment Canada)