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“This weekend’s scorching weather around the world”

A pedestrian cools off in water misters along the sidewalk during a heat wave in Las Vegas on Friday. Climate scientists say 2023 is on track to be the hottest year since records began. (Ronda Churchill/AFP/Getty Images) Excessive heat warnings remained in effect on Sunday for people around the world, from the United States, to Europe, and Japan. The heat wave that’s spreading across a swath of the U.S. from Oregon, down the West Coast, and into the Southwest including Texas through Alabama, is unusual, said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md. There’s a mass of high pressure air sitting like a dome “parked” over the affected areas and it’s deflecting any rain and storm systems that could provide relief to more than 100 million Americans under heat warnings and cautions, said Taylor. Phoenix, Ariz., is centred squarely under the heat dome, and the temperature was expected to climb to 47 C on Sunday, matching the high on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures in Arizona’s capital have been at or above 43 C every day for 16 consecutive days, nearing the 1974 record of 18 days in a row for that level of heat. Some of the estimated 200 cooling centres in metro Phoenix planned to extend their weekend hours, and emergency rooms were ready to treat people with heat-related illnesses. In Nevada, an intense heat wave threatens to break Las Vegas’s all-time record high of 47.2 C this weekend. Misters have been set up along the Las Vegas Strip to provide some relief. A man cools off in misters along the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday. (John Locher/The Associated Press) The National Weather Service says the extreme heat will continue through the middle of this week. Forecasters have warned people to take precautions to protect themselves from the heat, such as cancelling outdoor activities during the day. High temperatures that have already sparked wildfires in Spain and Croatia were also being felt in central parts of Europe, including Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic — and with another heat wave in the forecast, more high temperatures were expected across the continent in the coming days. On Spain’s La Palma Canary Island, officials ordered more than 4,000 people to evacuate their homes on Saturday because of a raging wildfire. The fire, which has destroyed at least 20 homes, coincides with a heat wave that has persisted for nearly a week in southern and central Europe. Italy issued hot weather red alerts for 16 cities on Sunday, with meteorologists warning that temperatures will hit record highs across southern Europe in the coming days. Spain, Italy and Greece have been experiencing scorching temperatures for several days already, damaging agriculture and leaving tourists scurrying for shade. Forecasters say a new weather system with extreme heat pushed into southern Europe from North Africa on Sunday and could lift temperatures above 45 C in parts of Italy early this week. “We need to prepare for a severe heat storm that, day after day, will blanket the whole country,” Italian weather news service Meteo reported on Sunday. “In some places ancient heat records will be broken.” In parts of eastern Japan, highs of 38 and 39 C were expected on Sunday and Monday, with forecasters warning temperatures could break records. A traffic worker stands guard on Sunday at the entrance to a flooded underpass in Akita, Japan. (STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images) Japan issued heat alerts on Sunday to tens of millions of people in 20 of the country’s 47 prefectures due to high temperatures, while torrential rain pummelled other regions, the AFP news agency reported. Flash flooding hit the city of Akita in northern Japan on Sunday, leaving one person dead and four injured. In South Korea, days of heavy rain have triggered flash floods and landslides. Rescuers on Sunday pulled nine bodies from a flooded tunnel where around 15 vehicles were trapped in muddy water, officials said. A total of 37 people have died and thousands have been evacuated since July 9, when heavy rain started pounding South Korea’s central regions. After Earth’s hottest week on record, extreme weather surprises everyone — even climate scientists The heat has been unprecedented, and extreme weather, from wildfires to floods, are ravaging various corners of the world. Data suggests last week was the hottest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Temperatures have soared across much of southern Europe and the southern United States, while powerful rain storms led to flooding in Vermont, India, Japan — and Montreal on Thursday. At the same time, Canada has already surpassed the record for the total area burned in a wildfire season. This follows the hottest June on record, with unprecedented sea surface temperatures and record low Antarctic sea ice coverage. “There’s a lot of concern from the scientific community and a lot of catch up in the scientific community trying to understand these incredible changes we’re seeing at the moment,” said Michael Sparrow, head of the WMO’s world climate research program. All this comes at the onset of El Niño, which is expected to further fuel the heat both on land and in the oceans, according to Prof. Christopher Hewitt, WMO’s director of climate services. “We are in uncharted territory and we can expect more records to fall as El Niño develops further,” he said. “These impacts will extend into 2024.” Global sea surface temperatures hit new records for the time of the year both in May and June, according to the WMO. In Florida, for instance, the water temperature near Johnson Key was 36 Celsius, about 5 degrees warmer than normal this time of year, meteorologists said. “As we go forward, we will see more extreme weather,” said Altaf Arain, a professor in the school of earth, environment and society at McMaster University and director of McMaster’s Centre for Climate Change. While Arain isn’t entirely surprised by the surging temperatures, he said the idea of a “new normal” should be thrown out the window. “It may not be fair to use that term because when you talk about the new normal, then you have to look at the time scale,” he said. “We will have a new normal

“The Military Prepares to Deploy as Highway to Bella Coola Closed as Hundreds of Wildfires Burn Across B.C.”

An aerial view of the Young Creek wildfire burning in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, which has closed Highway 20 between Bella Coola and Williams Lake, B.C. (B.C. Wildfire Service) A working group comprised of members of Public Safety Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces and British Columbia emergency management and wildfire officials are set to meet Monday as several hundred blazes burn across the province. A statement from B.C.’s Ministry of Emergency Management said the meeting will focus on plans for deploying federal resources after the province requested help in the fight. It said two military reconnaissance teams were deployed Sunday, with a “land force team” arriving at the ministry’s emergency operations centre in Prince George and an air force team bound for the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) co-ordination centre in Kamloops. The ministry said the teams are conducting assessments that will inform deployment plans for additional federal resources to come. Firefighting personnel from the United States, Mexico and New Zealand are also in the province. Teams were set to arrive from Australia over the weekend. Around 380 blazes are burning throughout B.C., with more than 20 considered highly visible, threatening or potentially damaging “wildfires of note.” Many of those fires, along with more than 70 wildfire-related evacuation alerts and orders, are clustered in parts of B.C.’s central Interior. Ottawa mobilizing military resources to help fight wildfires in B.C. Increasing wildfires prompt dozens of evacuation orders, alerts across B.C. The BCWS says more than a dozen new blazes have sparked since Sunday, while gusty winds caused one out-of-control blaze to grow and led to the closure of a highway in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. The service said Highway 20 east of Bella Coola was closed Sunday evening as the “aggressive” fire near Young Creek swelled to 22 square kilometres. DriveBC said a 60-kilometre stretch of the highway was closed starting around 50 kilometres east of the coastal community. The BCWS says no evacuation orders have been issued for the fire. Near Kamloops, the Bush Creek East fire is “highly visible,” the Thomson-Nicola Regional District says, but no evacuation orders or alerts have been issued even as gusty winds have fanned flames around the city. The Cariboo Regional District issued an evacuation order issued Friday spanning nearly 3,340 square kilometres in the Lhoosk’uz area, west of Quesnel, as well as several others in the region. B.C. wildfire fighter, 19, died after being hit by falling tree while responding to blaze: RCMP To the north, the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako rescinded an evacuation order related to the Big Creek wildfire. Residents of a remote area that includes Omineca Provincial Park have been allowed to return home, although they remain subject to an alert and must be ready to leave right away. The Peace River Regional District in the province’s northeast has also cancelled an evacuation alert covering 60 properties due to the Donnie Creek blaze, the largest recorded in B.C.’s history. The alert had covered a lengthy stretch of Highway 97 and properties in a remote area north of Fort St. John for more than two weeks. Portuguese firefighters arrive at the military airport in Lisbon for a brief departure ceremony before boarding a flight for Canada on June 14 to help with wildfires. (Armando Franca/The Associated Press) Light rain brings light relief B.C.’s drought bulletin shows widespread drought conditions, with the fire danger rating ranked at high to extreme across much of the province. Environment Canada’s forecast for Kamloops says there’s a chance of rain and a risk of thunderstorms this afternoon, with many regions in the province under cloudy skies with possible rain on the way, breaking a weeks-long drought. Metro Vancouver’s cloudy skies Monday brought light rain. Four of the 34 basins the province monitors are ranked at the most severe level of drought. That includes all of Vancouver Island, the Bulkley-Lakes basin and the Fort Nelson basin. As the summer season intensifies, the province of British Columbia, Canada, finds itself grappling with a staggering number of wildfires. These destructive blazes have engulfed vast areas of land, threatening communities and leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. In response to this dire situation, the military is preparing to deploy its resources to aid in firefighting efforts. Additionally, the situation has become so critical that the highway leading to Bella Coola has been forced to close, exacerbating the challenges faced by local residents and emergency responders. With countless lives and livelihoods at stake, British Columbia is in the midst of a profound crisis. The wildfires that have ravaged British Columbia are the result of a combination of factors, including prolonged heatwaves, dry conditions, and lightning strikes. The province, known for its stunning landscapes and vast forests, has long been prone to wildfires, but the current situation has reached unprecedented levels. Climate change has undoubtedly played a significant role in exacerbating these fires, with rising temperatures and changing weather patterns creating a more favorable environment for their occurrence and rapid spread. The toll on the province has been immense. Hundreds of wildfires are currently active, scorching large swaths of land and decimating countless hectares of forests. Communities are on high alert, with evacuation orders issued for many areas threatened by the advancing flames. The situation has prompted an urgent response from local authorities and emergency services, but their resources are stretched thin, necessitating additional support. Recognizing the severity of the crisis, the Canadian military has initiated preparations to deploy personnel and resources to assist in firefighting operations. This marks a significant development in the battle against the wildfires, as the military’s involvement brings invaluable capabilities and expertise to the table. The armed forces have a long history of aiding in disaster response efforts, and their participation in this wildfire crisis demonstrates the gravity of the situation. The military’s involvement entails a multifaceted approach. Firstly, personnel will be dispatched to affected regions to provide support in various capacities. This includes assisting with evacuation efforts, establishing emergency shelters, and coordinating logistics. The military’s well-organized structure and efficient command system make them well-suited to handle complex

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