The summer heat has made its way to B.C. – finally – bringing with it a number of warnings in the Interior and Kootenays.
Osoyoos was the hottest city in Canada on Tuesday (July 28) at 37.9 C, according to Environment Canada.
Heat alerts are in effect for the southern and central Interior, with the national forecaster predicting that some cities are likely to reach 40 C this afternoon.
Heat warnings are in effect for 100 Mile and Cariboo, with Environment Canada calling for people to be on the lookout for adverse weather conditions.
Temperatures are forecast to reach 35 C across the Kootenays, as a strong ridge of high pressure remains over the Okanagan, Environment Canada said.
Yesterday's BC (and Canadian!) #HotSpot was #Osoyoos at 37.9C!!
Heat alerts remain in effect for the Southern and Central Interior with some sites likely to hit the 40C mark this afternoon: https://t.co/VnHyyH1Zsd
Follow the latest temperatures here: https://t.co/wml5BRj7gO pic.twitter.com/jyRAEPfdlz
— ECCC Weather British Columbia (@ECCCWeatherBC) July 29, 2020
The heat is expected to moderate over the southern Interior Friday as the high pressure weakens, the national weather forecaster said. However, the Kootenays will only see temperatures moderate slightly, with hot weather persisting through the weekend.
Young children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses are most at risk of of adverse health impacts from the heat. People working or exercising outdoors are being urged to use caution. Advocates are warning pet owners not to leave their animals inside parked vehicles.
The hot weather has pushed fire danger ratings to extreme in most of the Interior.
Through most of July, scattered hot and dry conditions were enough to dry out forest and grassland fuels in the dirt, increasing wildfire hazards, according to the BC Wildfire Service’s seasonal outlook for July.
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