Sudden deaths soar in Canada amid heat wave

Scores of deaths in Canada's Vancouver area are likely linked to a grueling heat wave, authorities say, as the country bakes in its highest ever temperature amid conditions that extend to the US Pacific Northwest.

At least 134 people have died suddenly since Friday in the Vancouver area, according to figures released by the city police department and the Royal Canadian Mounted police.

The Vancouver Police Department alone said it had responded to more than 65 sudden deaths since Friday, with the vast majority "related to the heat."

Canada set a new all-time high temperature record for a third day in a row on Tuesday, reaching 49.5 degrees Celsius in Lytton, British Columbia, about 250 kilometers east of Vancouver, the country's weather service, Environment Canada, said.

Other local municipalities have said they too have responded to many sudden death calls, but have yet to release tolls.

"It's never this bad. I've never seen anything like this," said a Vancouver resident. "I hope it never becomes like this ever again. This is too much."

River swimmer Graham Griedger said: "I feel for those people whether they're the elderly demographic or people who live on the downtown eastside of Vancouver who don't have a cool spot to live or sleep."

Climate change is causing record-setting temperatures to become more frequent. Globally, the decade to 2019 was the hottest recorded, and the five hottest years have all occurred within the last five years.

Temperatures in the US Pacific Northwest cities of Portland and Seattle reached levels not seen since record-keeping began in the 1940s, according to the National Weather Service.

The chief coroner for the province of British Columbia said it had "experienced a significant increase in deaths reported where it is suspected that extreme heat has been contributory."

The service said in a statement it recorded 233 deaths between Friday and Monday, compared to 130 on average.

"We are in the midst of the hottest week British Columbians have ever experienced, and there are consequences to that, disastrous consequences for families and for communities," British Columbia Premier John Horgan said.

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

Stores quickly sold out of portable air conditioners and fans, so several people without cooling at home said they hunkered down in their air-conditioned cars or underground parking garages at night.

Cities across the western United States and Canada opened emergency cooling centers and outreach workers handed out bottles of water and hats.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE