Canada, the second coldest country in the world, has created a new world record in terms of the daily temperature. The country’s western swathes and the adjoining areas of the United States experienced unprecedented heat wave conditions, which has forced schools and Corona health care homes to be shut.
Take the example of Lytton in the province of British Columbia. The village recorded an all-time high of 46.6 degrees (116 Fahrenheit) on Sunday (June 28). The conditions in the adjacent parts of the US are no different.
A climatologist, David Phillips, was quoted in AFP as saying: “It’s a desert heat –very dry and hot… We often see cold snaps and blizzards but not often do we talk about hot weather like this.”
Experts fear that the worst is yet to come. Since residents in these parts of the world are not used to warmer climes, they are facing difficulties in their daily lives. There has been brisk sale of portable air conditioners, fans and coolers in this part of North America lately.
Researchers say that the excessive heat conditions in recent years are mainly the result of climate change and global warming. It needs to be mentioned that the five hottest years have all been recorded within the last five years.
Many afternoon events, such as Olympic field trials have been shifted to the evening keeping in view the heat wave conditions.
Across the border, Seattle in Washington state of the US registered 40 degrees centigrade (104 Fahrenheit) on Sunday.
The Northern hemisphere, which is generally very cold, is of late witnessing impact of global warming. For instance, about 35,000 people lost their lives due to heat wave in Europe in 2003. About 20,000 of these deaths were reported in France alone.
