Canada weather: Temperatures reach a new high of 46.6°C, while the US north-west likewise swelters.

Millions of people in western Canada and the northwest United States were under heat alerts Wednesday as the region baked in record-breaking temperatures, and police reported a number of deaths that were likely caused by the extreme heat.

According to Canadian police and the local coroner, the heat wave has strained emergency services, with at least 134 people dying suddenly since Friday in the Vancouver area and hundreds more across British Columbia.

“The temperatures recorded this week are unprecedented; lives have been lost, and the risk of wildfires is dangerously high,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

According to county health officials, the northwestern US state of Washington recorded at least 16 deaths related to the heat wave, including two who died of hyperthermia as their bodies overheated.

Soaring temperatures in California’s valleys, mountains, and deserts have fueled fears of wildfires in windy, dry conditions, with lightning storms that could spark fires forecast across much of the western United States.

President Joe Biden stated during a virtual meeting with western governors that “the threat of western wildfires this year is as severe as it has ever been.”

Recalling last year’s record wildfires in the United States, which burned more than 10 million acres (four million hectares) and caused “orange skies that looked like the end of days,” Biden warned that this year “could be even tougher.”

According to federal officials, this year’s fire season is already outpacing last year’s, which was the worst on record in drought-stricken California.

Around 9,000 firefighters have already been deployed to fight fires in a dozen US states, including the Lava Fire in northern California, which has scorched more than 17,000 acres.

Following the rapid spread of wildfires on Wednesday, all 250 residents of Lytton, located about 155 miles (250 kilometres) east of Vancouver, were forced to evacuate.

“The entire town has caught fire. It took about 15 minutes from the first sign of smoke to there suddenly being fire everywhere “Jan Polderman, the mayor of Lytton, told Canadian broadcaster CBC News.

Fires raged on the hills overlooking Lytton, engulfing the town, as residents rushed to safety under clouds of smoke.

Regional authorities issued evacuation orders to residents of another 241 homes in the area.

For the third day in a row, the town set a Canadian high-temperature record Tuesday, reaching 121 degrees Fahrenheit (49.5 degrees Celsius), according to the country’s weather service, Environment Canada.

The Vancouver Police Department alone responded to more than 98 sudden deaths since Friday, the vast majority of which were “related to the heat,” the department said on Wednesday.

For several days, temperatures in the Pacific coast city hovered around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly 20 degrees above seasonal norms.

“It’s never as bad as this. I’ve never seen anything like it before “said Rosa, a Vancouver resident who only gave her first name.

“I hope it never gets like this again. This is excessive.”

Others bemoaned the fact that some residents were more susceptible to the heat than others.

“I feel for those people, whether they’re the elderly or people who live on Vancouver’s downtown eastside who don’t have a cool place to live or sleep,” said river swimmer Graham Griedger.

According to Environment Canada, the city’s heat wave will subside by Wednesday, but unseasonably high temperatures will persist for the rest of the week.

Temperatures that break records are becoming more common as a result of climate change.

Globally, the decade from 2000 to 2019 was the warmest ever recorded, with the five hottest years all occurring within the last five years.

“This type of extreme weather event has become increasingly common in recent years. So, realistically, we know that this heat wave will not be the last of its kind “Trudeau stated.

The scorching heat that has reached Canada’s Arctic territories has been attributed to a high-pressure “heat dome” that has trapped warm air in the region.

Temperatures in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, reached highs not seen since record-keeping began in the 1940s: 115 degrees Fahrenheit in Portland and 108 degrees Fahrenheit in Seattle on Monday.

British Columbia’s premier, John Horgan, said the “hottest week British Columbians have ever experienced” was having “disastrous consequences for families and communities.”

The province’s chief coroner’s office said in a statement that 486 people died between Friday and Wednesday, compared to an average of 165.

In the Vancouver area, the heat wave has forced schools and Covid-19 vaccination centres to close, while officials have set up temporary water fountains and misting stations on street corners.

Cities throughout the western United States and Canada opened emergency cooling centres, and outreach workers distributed water bottles and hats.