In the last four days, the Canadian province of British Columbia has witnessed what the country has not seen in the last 87 years and the situation is worsening in both Canada and the US Pacific Northwest.
Canada, a country that is always known for its extremely cool and brutal winter snows, is now reporting a record-breaking temperature of 49.5 degrees celsius from the last four days. These exhausting heat waves are now the reasons for hundreds of deaths in the province.
According to the Canadian official’s statement to the local media, “Due to the severe heat waves, we have recorded over 233 deaths only in British Columbia in the past four days and unfortunately, we are expecting a rise in the cases as detailed reports from some districts are still awaited.”
Moving to other nearby areas, we can see an average of 100 deaths in the past four days due to unbearable heat which is unfamiliar to Canadians. According to the experts, this type of weather and heat waves are expected to persist throughout the week, and to get the situation in control in the coming days, Canadian Environment departments have issued red alerts in the nearby areas and quoted “prolonged, dangerous and historic heat waves will persist through this week.”
Recalling the actual weather in the state, a Vancouver police official said “Vancouver has never experienced heat like this, and sadly hundreds of people are dying because of it.”
Owing to the current situation, educational institutions and COVID-19 vaccination centres are also closed in British Columbia. An investigative officer explained that “the current situation can lead to severe or fatal results, particularly in older people, infants, and young children and those with chronic illnesses.”
Officials urged citizens “to avoid doing outdoor activities that give a lot of physical strain, stay indoors as much as possible, check on nearby people who might be at risk, drink plenty of water, and stay in the coolest part of the home.”
These heat waves combined with extreme drought have made the situation much worse with several fire breakouts and 1,500 of land burning down to ashes. In several other places, we could see cracking and melting of public roads and homes due to the severe heat waves in the air.
The major cause of this ground-breaking temperature can be because of the Climate change all around the world and these temperatures are expected to be more frequent from now on in cooler regions. Globally, the last decade recorded the hottest temperature and the five hottest years have all occurred in the last five years.
