The furnace becomes deadly.

Dozens of people have died suddenly in recent days in the Vancouver area, a peak in mortality likely linked to the heatwave that hit the western American continent and propelled the mercury to 49.5 ° C on Tuesday in Canada - a record absolute, announced the Canadian authorities.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP, Federal Police) and City of Vancouver Police have separately announced that at least 134 people have died suddenly since Friday in the Canadian metropolitan area of ​​the Pacific Coast, struggling with a historic heat wave, like the western United States. “Vancouver has never been so hot and sadly dozens of people have died from it,” Vancouver Police spokesperson Steve Addison said in a statement.

For their part, the services of the forensic pathologist of the province indicated to have "recorded a significant increase in the number of reported deaths" since the end of last week "where the extreme heat played a role".

These services received 233 reports of deaths in the province between Friday and Monday, compared to about 130 on average for the same period under normal circumstances, they said in a statement.

A majority of older people

"We believe that the heat has contributed to the majority of the deaths," also said the federal police, adding that the majority of the victims are elderly.

"This time can be deadly for vulnerable members of our community, especially the elderly and those with underlying health issues," said RCMP spokesperson Mike Kalanj, urging people to "Check if their relatives and neighbors are okay".

Mercury again easily crossed the 30 degree mark Tuesday in Vancouver, well above the normal of 21 degrees this season, while inland the temperature was unbearable.

For a third day in a row, the village of Lytton, some 260 km northeast of Vancouver, set a new all-time record for Canadian heat, with 49.5 degrees, according to the Canadian Weather Service.

The mercury also reached 42 degrees in the ski resort of Whistler, north of Vancouver, according to this service.

"Heat dome"

In addition to British Columbia, heatwave warnings have also been issued for the eastern provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as for parts of the Yukon and Northwest Territories to the north. from Canada.

In the region, air conditioners and fans are out of stock.

Cities have opened refreshment centers.

Vaccination campaigns against Covid-19 have been canceled, and schools closed.

The heatwave also hit American cities south of Vancouver, such as Portland (Oregon) and Seattle (Washington State), also known for their temperate and humid climate, and where the temperature has reached record highs since the beginning of the archives, in 1940. It was 46.1 degrees Celsius at Portland airport Monday afternoon and 41.6 degrees at Seattle airport, according to readings by the US Meteorological Service (NWS).

This heat wave, which caused several forest fires on both sides of the Canada-US border, can be explained by a phenomenon called a "heat dome": high pressures trap hot air in the air. region.

“Heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense as concentrations of greenhouse gases cause global temperatures to rise.

They start earlier and end later and take a growing toll on human health and health systems, ”warned the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization on Tuesday.

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