From flooding to extreme heat, Canadians on both sides of the country are grappling with wild weather ahead of Canada Day.
In Toronto and other parts of central Canada, dangerously hot conditions on Tuesday prompted Environment Canada to issue a heat warning and urge residents to check on the welfare of older adults and people living alone.
Temperatures in parts of Ontario and Quebec are expected to reach 34 C to 37 C on Wednesday and Thursday, coinciding with the holiday and the last World Cup game in Toronto. In that city, the heat wave has prompted officials to establish mobile drinking water stations in parks and to extend swimming pool hours.
Some relief is expected to come on Sunday in Toronto, the federal weather agency predicted, when the daytime high is forecast to come down to 28 C. The low for Saturday is also expected to drop just below 20 C.
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In Western Canada, heavy rainfall has caused flooding and dangerously high stream conditions in parts of Alberta, prompting evacuation alerts and stranding up to 1,500 campers in the popular recreation area of Kananaskis on Monday due to flooding-related road closures.
In Calgary, where the Calgary Stampede is set to begin on Friday, flows on the Bow and Elbow rivers are expected to remain high through Wednesday. Smoke from wildfires in northern Saskatchewan also moved into the city this week, prompting officials to issue an air quality warning.
The warning stretches west of Calgary and throughout northern, central and southern Alberta, including Edmonton, Red Deer, Banff, Canmore and Fort McMurray.
Saskatchewan also moved into the city this week, prompting officials to issue an air quality warning.
Significant rainfall is forecast for parts of eastern Saskatchewan and western Manitoba over the next few days. In parts of Manitoba, officials have warned that water levels on lakes and reservoirs could rise by 0.3 to 0.9 metres, and overland flooding is possible.
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Nature’s oven was on high Tuesday for millions of people in the Midwest and Great Lakes states as intense heat and humidity baked the regions with no immediate relief before the misery shifts to the eastern U.S.
The National Weather Service was blunt: Conditions were “dangerous” as the heat index, a combination of air temperature and humidity, exceeded 37.8 C in some areas. It warned about a risk for heat-related illnesses, especially among people without air conditioning.
Detroit’s air temperature was above 30 C,the service said, and could even reach 38 C at some point through Thursday. The city said a dozen recreation centres were open, some until 11 p.m., for people to cool off. Big chunks of Michigan, as well as Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and much of Iowa, were under an extreme heat warning.
The northeast, including New York City and Boston, will next feel major heat through the Fourth of July holiday. Norristown, Pa., 32 kilometres from Philadelphia, canceled a Saturday parade because of the weather.
Philadelphia declared a heat emergency, Wednesday through Saturday, and said 50 cooling centres will operate with extended hours. The city said visitors will find misting tents, water refill stations and medical stations at the free World Cup fan festival at East Fairmount Park.
Overseas, France saw around 1,000 additional deaths last week at the height of its record-smashing heat wave, the country’s public health agency said Sunday, as the head of the World Health Organization warned that Europe is now the fastest-warming continent and needs to do more to protect its citizens.
Temperature records were toppled in several countries on the weekend, wildfires were sparked in Germany and Berlin police used water cannons to cool down the crowds.
