It is extremely hot in North America, with the highest temperature approaching 50 degrees. In North America, unusually high temperatures occur in a large area. 486 people died in five days in British Columbia. In addition to threatening human health, high temperature also affects infrastructure, and the demand for electricity has increased greatly, resulting in difficult load of power supply system and large-scale power outages in many States.
The temperature in North America is extremely high, with the highest approaching 50 degrees 1. In North America, unusually high temperatures occur in a large area. British Columbia recorded 486 deaths in five days, while the average number of deaths in normal times was 165.
Coroner Reint said that many of the dead had been living alone in unventilated houses.
British Columbia's chief coroner blamed extreme weather. In the past three to five years, there have been only three deaths related to high temperature in this western province.
The temperature in the coastal areas of Canada has been dropping, but there are not many opportunities to breathe in the inland areas. The weather system is now moving eastward in grassland provinces, and parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been placed under the high temperature warning of Environment Canada.
Climate scientists are still trying to determine the extent to which climate change may aggravate the heat wave. A scientist said that unprecedented weather is almost certainly the result of global warming.
He said: "The climate is like a steroid of the weather, and it is trying to make such extreme events more common."
In Canada, residents of a town were forced to evacuate because of the spread of wildfire. The village recorded the highest temperature in the country's history of 49.6 degrees Celsius (12 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit).
The mayor of Litton, British Columbia, ordered people to evacuate, saying that wildfires could spread to the whole village in as short as 15 minutes. The heat wave hit western Canada this week, and the death toll in British Columbia was three times as high as usual.
On Wednesday, residents fled, leaving many people without belongings, as smoke and flames engulfed villages about 260 kilometers (162 miles) northeast of Vancouver.
According to meteorologists, winds as high as 765,438+0 km/h (44 mph) pushed the fire northward into the community on Wednesday night. The hot, dry and windy conditions in this area may mean that the fire is moving at a speed of 10 or even 20 km/h.
It is extremely hot in North America, with the highest temperature approaching 50 degrees. 2 The United States relaxed epidemic prevention measures to cool down.
In addition to threatening human health, high temperature also affects infrastructure. Trams in Portland, Oregon, USA have to be suspended due to the melting damage of wires at high temperature. Some local roads have cracks due to expansion, and even the plastic wallboard of houses has been deformed. However, the demand for electricity has increased greatly, which has led to the difficulty of power supply system load and large-scale power outages in many States.
Facing the hot weather, the local government and people have taken various measures to deal with it. The government of British Columbia, Canada proposed to suspend all outdoor sports competitions and ordered the closure of schools and vaccination centers. The local supermarket has sold out of cold drinks, ice cream and even ice cubes. The British Columbia Hotel Association said that the business of the industry was bleak under the epidemic, but due to people rushing to book air-conditioned rooms for the summer, hotels have recently been "hard to find a room".
Oregon temporarily relaxed COVID-19 restrictions, set up special "summer centers" in air-conditioned places such as gyms and libraries, and temporarily lifted the capacity restrictions of public swimming pools.
However, according to foreign media reports, the local people seem to have completely forgotten the epidemic prevention. Most people in beaches, swimming pools and parks don't wear masks or keep social distance, which may provide opportunities for the virus to spread further.
"High temperature dome" causes trouble
This won't be the last time
The meteorological department predicts that this round of extreme high temperature in North America may last for another week. Experts believe that the "hot dome" is one of the chief culprits of the heat wave. "High-temperature dome" refers to the stagnation of hot high pressure over an area, which covers hot air like a dome or cover, making it difficult to disperse, making the ground temperature rise continuously, and it is difficult to cool down even at night.
David phillips, a senior climatologist of Canadian environment and climate change, said that "high temperature dome" is a weather phenomenon, which traps heat and prevents other weather systems from entering. It gradually weakened as it moved eastward, but it was still enough to set a record from Alberta to Manitoba.
Phillips said that it is not clear what caused the "high temperature dome", but considering the duration and extreme conditions of the heat wave, climate change seems to be a contributing factor.
When Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau delivered a speech in Ottawa on the 30th, he remembered the deceased and expressed concern about the fire threat. "In the past few years, we have seen more and more such extreme weather events," he said. "In fact, we know that this heat wave will not be the last."
US President Biden also said that climate change is promoting "the dangerous combination of extreme high temperature and long-term drought" and warned that the United States is lagging behind in preparing for forest fires this year.