Canada has beaten its hottest ever recorded temperature for the second day in a row. In British Columbia, temperatures were so scorching you could fry an egg with the heat from the street:
The country is currently going through an all mighty heatwave, with roads actually melting due to the extreme heat.
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Before this week, the temperature had never surpassed 45°C, however, on Sunday (27 June), it reached 46.6°C and yesterday, it rose again to an incredible 47.9°C in the village of Lytton, British Columbia.
Sharing the news, meteorologist Scott Duncan wrote on Twitter: "I can't believe I am writing this.
"Canada has obliterated its national all-time heat record *for the second day in a row*.
"Before yesterday (27 June), greater than 45°C had never been recorded. As far as climatology is concerned, this is deeply shocking."
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He added: "To beat a national record by a clear margin is astounding.
"But to beat it on consecutive days with the new national record now nearly +3°C (5.2°F) higher than the old long-standing record is simply outrageous."
The Pacific Northwest and parts of Canada is currently baking in heat so unusual that it's melting the local infrastructure.
Photos have been shared on social media showing the impact the weather is having, with roads and houses seen to be melting.
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People have even been cooking eggs on the ground outside.
In the US, Seattle hit 42°C by mid-afternoon yesterday - well above Sunday's all-time high of 40°C.
The heat forced schools and businesses to close in some places to protect workers and guests, including some places like outdoor pools and ice cream shops where people seek relief from the heat.
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Covid-19 testing sites and mobile vaccination units were out of service as well.
According to experts, the heatwave is being caused by something described as a dome of high pressure over the Northwest, which has been worsened by human-caused climate change.
This, they say, is making such extreme weather events more likely and more intense.
Zeke Hausfather, a scientist at the climate-data nonprofit Berkeley Earth, said that the Pacific Northwest has warmed by about three degrees Fahrenheit (1.7 degrees C) in the past half-century.
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He said: "In a world without climate change, this still would have been a really extreme heatwave.
"This is worse than the same event would have been 50 years ago, and notably so."
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: Science, Weather, climate change, heatwave, US News, record, Canada, temperature
