Greta Thunberg: Heatwave 'Just Getting Started' as Canada Breaks All-time Record Highest Temperature

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg warns that "this heatwave is just getting started." In Lytton, British Columbia, Canada reached an all-time high temperature of 46.6 degrees Celsius (116 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday.

With the globe changing, climate change has been one of the major concerns since the beginning of the industrial age, and it is presently producing substantial change throughout the world, such as heatwaves and droughts.

Increase of Temperature in Parts of Canada, Washington and Oregon

Hotter temperatures may lead to more heatwaves and an increased danger of wildfires and droughts in some regions of the country.

High temperatures in Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, both topped 37.8 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) areas of the Pacific Northwest of the United States on Monday. Global warming, according to scientists, has increased the frequency and intensity of extreme weather occurrences. According to new scientific findings, Canada is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world.

Experts believe the high temperatures are produced by a "heat dome," which is a high-pressure region that hovers over an area for an extended length of time and functions as the lid of a saucepan, trapping heat.

Also read: The Earth's Heat Has Doubled over the Past 14 Years, NASA Warned

Effects of the Heatwave

Establishments

The heat caused schools and businesses to close in order to safeguard employees and visitors, including outdoor pools and ice cream shops where people go to cool off. Several Covid-19 testing facilities and mobile vaccination units had to close as well.

Unexpected fatalities in Vancouver

A scorching heat wave that has engulfed western Canada for several days is suspected of being a significant cause in scores of sudden deaths calls in the Vancouver region, according to Canadian police.

In a news release, Sgt. Steve Addison said, "Vancouver has never experienced heat like this, and sadly dozens of people are dying because of it", "Our officers are stretched thin, but we're still doing everything we can to keep people safe." Since the heat wave began on Friday, he added, police have attended to more than 65 sudden fatalities, as of mid-afternoon Tuesday.

Since the heatwave that has swept the Pacific Northwest of the Americas began on Friday, police have reacted to more than 65 sudden fatalities, he said on Tuesday afternoon.

According to Addison, "the great majority of these instances are connected to the heat."

According to the CBC, a regular four-day period in British Columbia would see approximately 130 deaths, but between Friday and Monday, there were 233. 

The Pacific Northwest has warmed by approximately 1.7 degrees Celsius over the previous half-century, according to Zeke Hausfather, a scientist with the climate-data group Berkeley Earth in California.

He said: "In a world without climate change, this still would have been a really extreme heatwave. This is worse than the same event would have been 50 years ago, and notably so."

Climate change is becoming increasingly severe. 

Greta Thunberg wants to issue a warning, stating that this is only the beginning.

Also read: Humans Responsible For Over a Third of Heat Deaths Due to Global Warming