The ongoing May heat wave that shattered nearly 40 records across B.C. and Alberta on Sunday and Monday should be seen as a warning of more out-of-season hot spells in the future, climatologists say.
The unseasonal hot weather, which has sent temperatures soaring 10 to 15 degrees higher than normal in some communities, broke more than 30 records in B.C., in towns including Cache Creek, Hope and Lillooet on Sunday.
The temperature peaked in Lytton on both days, hitting 36.5 C on Monday — the highest in the country.
Northern B.C. hasn't been spared from the heat. Burns Lake recorded 31.9 C on Monday, shattering its previous record of 25.6 C set in 1959. Bella Bella's 30.1 C high is five degrees hotter than 2014's previous record.
On Vancouver Island, Comox saw a high of 30.1 C on Monday, up from the 2006 record of 26.5 C.
In Alberta, Sunday's temperature spike broke daily highs in places including Edmonton, Edson, Hinton and Jasper, all of which pushed close to 30 C for the day. On Monday, Fort McMurray was hottest in the province at 31.3 C, compared to the 27.8 C record set in 1959.
Joseph Shea, an associate professor in environmental geomatics at the University of Northern British Columbia, said Western Canada residents "need to adapt to a hotter future" with more extended, out-of-season heat waves.
He said that includes the possibility of another "heat dome" weather event this generation, referring to the 2021 phenomenon that killed more than 600 people in B.C. The odds of such an event occurring in any given year were once thought to be vanishingly small.
"I believe they attributed that heat dome event to be like a one-in-1,000-year event,'' Shea said. "... But climate change is proceeding right in front of our eyes, and those odds, I think, are changing. They're going to become more frequent.''
The current heat wave is not as severe as the 2021 heat dome, which set the all-time Canadian temperature record of 49.5 C in Lytton. But it has exacerbated both the wildfire and flooding situations in B.C. and Alberta, as snowpacks melt prematurely in large quantities while forests dry up and become susceptible to large blazes.
Shea said that as temperature spikes become longer and more frequent, wildfire seasons could also become longer and more expansive, impacting everything from forest ecosystems to water supply.
"If we get this [current] event in a month from now, we're gonna wind up in a very similar heat dome situation,'' he said.
Plume of hot air to remain over parts of B.C
A warning has also been issued for B.C.'s North Coast, including Kitimat and Terrace, with high temperatures in the forecast stretching into the long weekend.
The warning from Environment Canada says a plume of hot air is to remain in place over parts of B.C. through Thursday, bringing daytime highs to near 30 C and overnight lows near 15 C.
Andreanne Doyon, an assistant professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, said the current temperature trends are very concerning, even if temperatures are not at heat-dome levels.
"We are not supposed to have heat like 10 to 15 degrees hotter than average in May,'' Doyon said. "... We know that things like heat waves are going to be more frequent, they are going to be more severe, and they're going to happen at times of the year where they previously haven't.''
Doyon said she was especially concerned about cities such as Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, where infrastructure such as pavement and concrete absorbs more heat than foliage and natural landscapes.
"Heat waves are sometimes referred to as the deadliest of natural disasters — because they are something that people don't focus on," she said.
The Peace River Regional District says there was "significant fire activity" on Saturday that necessitated evacuation orders and alerts, and Fort St. John on Monday issued an alert for the entire city, asking all 21,000 residents to be ready to evacuate.
B.C.'s River Forecast Centre also issued several high streamflow advisories for the Skeena River, the Upper Columbia and East and West Kootenay rivers and others, as the high temperatures accelerated the spring snowmelt.
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary has also issued an evacuation order for six properties in the Manly Meadows area east of Grand Forks.
People are being warned to stay away from fast-moving waters and unstable banks.
B.C.'s Interior has been particularly hard-hit by flooding and fires this spring, including Cache Creek, where flooding earlier this month forced people from their homes and damaged highways.
If you live in B.C., more extreme hot weather is in your future, say experts - CBC.ca
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