TORONTO -- Western Canada continues to be firmly in the grip of its first major heat wave of 2021, with temperatures that have the potential to eclipse all-time highs set over the weekend.
The high of 46.6 degrees Celsius hit in Lytton, British Columbia on Sunday broke an 84-year-old record for highest temperature ever reached in Canada. But the new standard may not last more than a day as Environment and Climate Change Canada forecast highs of 47C on both Monday and Tuesday for Lytton, and a high of 47C also predicted on Tuesday for nearby Lillooet, B.C.
“I would think we could break a record today,” Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips told CTVNews.ca in an interview on Monday.
Following several days of sweltering conditions under the “heat dome” of high pressure atmosphere, some power utilities worried of spiking demand, while some municipalities wrestled with how to help populations vulnerable to the extreme heat.
Environment Canada had heat warnings in place covering nearly all of B.C. and all of Alberta on Monday, with many areas expected to see temperatures in excess of 40C and continued high temperatures through the week. Warnings also extended into parts of the Yukon and Northwest Territories, and covered much of Saskatchewan and parts of western Manitoba.
In the eastern part of the country, while not part of the dome that has led to high temperatures in Western Canada and parts of the U.S., there was also unseasonable heat, with southern parts of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and eastern Ontario covered by heat warnings, and much of southern Ontario, including Toronto, subject to weather statements warning of hot and humid weather.
The extreme highs seen in the west were a surprise for even a climate veteran like Phillips, particularly when compared to typical June weather, when highs usually register in the 20s in southern Canada.
“I’ve been in the business over 50 years, and this is to me a head shaker. I compare this now to Snag, Yukon, the coldest moment in North American history,” he said. Snag, Yukon, recorded an all-time low of -62.8C in February 1947.
“The warmest moment for most of the country is towards the end of July and early August. Those are the dog days of summer. But here we are not even out of June yet and we’ve established a new all-time record. So this is clearly early for it,” Phillips added.
BC Hydro said in a statement that it set a record for electricity demand of 8,106 megawatts on Sunday night, which broke a previous record set on Saturday. The utility warned customers to find ways to keep cool and reduce demand by shutting doors and windows, and using a fan instead of an air conditioner.
In Edmonton, where temperatures were forecast to hit 34C on Monday and rise to 39C on Wednesday, an extreme weather response was in place, with city peace officers carrying water for distribution to vulnerable people, and several city facilities open for those needing a break from the heat.
According to Environment Canada, the hot weather should persist throughout the week in much of the west, although temperatures along the coast are expected to begin coming down as soon as Tuesday.
With a hot and dry summer predicted for much of Western Canada as well as border areas in Central and Eastern Canada, the idea of hitting such extreme heat so early in the season could seem alarming for those worried what the next two months might bring.
But Phillips said it would be a mistake to extrapolate the current heat wave through the rest of the summer.
“This could be the warmest time of the summer. This is historically unprecedented,” he said. “Typically July and August are warmer months, but this is a singular episode.”
