Lytton, a village in British Columbia, became the first place in Canada to ever record a temperature over 113 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday — and experts are predicting even hotter weather to come.
The temperature in Lytton soared to just under 115 degrees Sunday, according to Environment Canada, a government weather agency.
As The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang noted, that’s just one degree lower than the city record in Las Vegas. The previous records for hottest temperature, both 113 degrees, were set in Yellow Grass and Midale in Saskatchewan on July 5, 1937.
“It’s warmer in parts of western Canada than in Dubai. I mean, it’s just not something that seems Canadian,” Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips told CTV News on Saturday.
Even in the metropolitan hub of Vancouver, parks, beaches and pools have been flooded with residents eager to cool off as the temperature hit 89 degrees at the local airport on Sunday — a record in a coastal city that usually has mild weather.
This year, Canada’s record comes amid a severe heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, where Portland and Seattle have set records: 112 degrees and 103 degrees, respectively.
Lytton’s record may not stand for long. In a tweet, Environment Canada suggested that as more readings from Sunday come in, further records could be set.
And the heat wave is expected to continue for several more days. CTV News reported that predictions for Tuesday suggest Lytton could reach almost 117 degrees.
The high temperatures in the region have been blamed on a “heat dome” — a sprawling area of high pressure — now sitting over western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Experts say climate change can make extreme weather events like this more common.
Environment Canada has issued heat warnings for a variety of people, including young children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses.
BC Hydro, the main electric utility company in British Columbia, warned Monday that electricity demand was also setting records. “Extreme heat leads to record-breaking electricity demand for a second day in a row,” the company said on Twitter.
