Europe weather News

Authorities in the western United States and Canada are warning residents to take precautions as an historic heatwave hit the region on Saturday, sending temperatures soaring and pushing local officials to open emergency cooling centres.

All of the US states of Washington and Oregon and parts of Idaho, Wyoming and California were under an excessive heat warning as temperatures were to rise dramatically during the weekend and through next week, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

“This event will likely be one of the most extreme and prolonged heatwaves in the recorded history of the inland Northwest,” the NWS said.

Across the region, dozens of daily record-high temperatures are expected to be set, with monthly and even all-time records in jeopardy of falling, the service said.

The Dalles, Oregon, which has a population of approximately 16,000, could approach its all-time record of 112F (44C) on Sunday, and Spokane, Washington, could also make history with its slated slew of 100F (37C) degree temperatures.

On Saturday, Seattle had its second-warmest morning on record, the Seattle National Weather Service tweeted.

"A dangerous heatwave is impacting the Pacific Northwest and into southern California," the National Weather Service tweeted. "More than one hundred record high temperatures are forecast this weekend through Thursday."

Some of the affected areas are generally accustomed to milder weather – and many residents do not have air conditioning, which has raised concerns about the safety of elderly, unhoused and other people who are particularly vulnerable in extreme heat.

The hot weather had berry farmers scrambling to pick crops before they rot on the vine and fisheries managers working to keep endangered sockeye salmon safe from too-warm river water.

North of the border, the Canadian government also issued a heat warning for parts of the western provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

“I like to break a record, but this is like shattering and pulverising them,” Environment Canada’s senior climatologist David Phillips told local news outlet CTV News. “It’s warmer in parts of western Canada than in Dubai.”

The heatwave comes after official data showed that earlier this month, 88 percent of the western US was in a state of drought made worse by climate change. Lakes have been at historically low levels and restrictions were imposed on water use across the region.

WA is expecting record heat over the next week. We are increasing capacity for many cooling centers by removing restrictions on number of people who can be inside these locations. This is one way to temporarily address the health effects of the heat wave.https://t.co/R2L9sKpKPv
— Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) June 25, 2021