Northern heat wave melts records in Yukon and Northwest Territories.
Temperatures hovered near 30 C across large parts of the Northern Territories on Tuesday, including areas within the Arctic Circle, prompting Environment Canada to issue multiple heat warnings.
The heat wave began over the Canada Day long weekend and is expected to continue throughout the week.
Several temperature records were broken Monday, including in areas well above the Arctic Circle like Inuvik, NWT. Temperatures there reached 31.8C, breaking the record of 29.5C set in 1998. More than 3,600km south in Vancouver, temperatures were at least 10C cooler.
Summer in many northern regions also means 24-hour sunlight. Although temperatures are expected to drop into the low teens and twenties in the later hours, towns like Inuvik won’t see sunset for another two weeks when the sun dips below the horizon for about an hour early on July 20.
In total, temperature records were set in at least three areas in the Northwest Territories (Inuvik, Paulatuk and Tuktoyaktuk) and six in the Yukon (Burwash Landing, Carmax, Faro, Haines Junction, Kluan Lake and Teslin). Carmacks, located between Whitehorse and Dawson City, also saw temperatures of 31.8C on Monday; nearly three degrees higher than the record set in 2021.
In the Yukon, hot conditions and lightning strikes have sparked at least 20 fires per day since the start of the Canada Day long weekend. There were 104 active fires in the Yukon on Tuesday, officials said, compared to 36 on the same date last year.
“The Yukon is currently facing unprecedented levels of wildfires caused by lightning,” Mike Fancy of Yukon Wildfire Management told the Canadian Press.
Meanwhile, the Yukon is battling flooding and evacuations in some areas. The wildfires have prompted Environment Canada to issue air quality statements in both the Yukon and Northwest Territories, where they are also battling the fires.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, Environment Canada heat warnings were still in effect for more than a dozen areas in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, including Whitehorse, Dawson, Inuvik and Fort Simpson.
According to Environment Canada, “Heat warnings are issued when very high temperature or humidity conditions are expected to present an increased risk of heat illness, such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion.”
With files from the Canadian Press
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