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These deaths in Vancouver area are likely linked to a grueling heat wave amid scorching conditions that have extended to the US Pacific Northwest.
Officials told Reuters that at least 233 people died in the West coast province of British Columbia between Friday and Monday, about 100 more than the average for a four-day period. They added that the number was expected to rise as more reports were filed.
Environment Canada has issued alerts for British Columbia, Alberta, and parts of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, saying the "prolonged, dangerous and historic heat wave will persist through this week."
The deaths came as Canada set a new all-time high temperature record for a third day in a row on Tuesday, reaching 49.5 degrees Celsius in Lytton, British Columbia. The heat wave has forced schools and Covid-19 vaccination centers to close in the Vancouver area.
British Columbia Premier John Horgan told a news conference, said, “We are in the midst of the hottest week British Columbians have ever experienced, and there are consequences to that, disastrous consequences for families and for communities,"
"How we get through this extraordinary time is by hanging together.â€
British Columbia includes Vancouver province.
He urged "checking up on those people we know might be at risk, making sure we have cold compresses in the fridge or we're staying in the coolest part of our homes, and making sure that we're taking steps to get through this heat wave."
Temperatures in the US Pacific Northwest cities of Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington reached levels not seen since record-keeping began in the 1940s: 46.1 degrees Celsius in Portland and 42.2°C in Seattle on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
The extreme heat, combined with intense drought, also created the perfect conditions for several fires to break out over the weekend, and one blaze on the California-Oregon border had already burned some 1,500 acres (600 hectares) by Monday morning.
Canada is widely known for its brutal winter and snows, and prior to the weekend the historical high in Canada was 45°C, set in Saskatchewan in 1937, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. ■