17 new records set, tied as heat hangs over B.C.
Posted July 11, 2024 6:54 am.
There’s little relief in sight as B.C. deals with another hot, dry day on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Environment Canada said 17 daily heat records were set or tied in B.C., but none in the Lower Mainland. Some of the records shattered date back to 1926. This comes after dozens of daily records fell on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday province-wide.
Thursday is going to be hot again, but the good news is we’re past the peak of the heat.
CityNews Meteorologist Carl Lam says that doesn’t mean you’re going to be very comfortable Thursday.
“This big bubble of high pressure just continues to hover over the province, and we are going to be dealing with dry conditions for today, tomorrow, into the weekend and even into the middle of next week as well,” he explained.
“So, this is going to be a very dry stretch. We’re not expecting any rain, so your lawns and gardens are going to need some extra attention.”
He adds the good news is the humidity is slowly leveling off.
“For Metro Vancouver, the highs right by the water are dipping into the low 20s for those daytime highs and away from the water, you’re into the upper 20s, so it’s still running above average of where we should be for this time of year, but at least we’re not dealing with the combination of heat and humidity that would trigger a heat warning.
“Next week, it does look like some warmer air does return for Sunday, all the way through Tuesday and Wednesday, but we are hopeful, that we could get some rain in here as we go into the second half of next week.”
Lam is calling for the inland humidex to be 32 degrees, while the inland temperature should be about 28 degrees on Thursday.
Air quality in the Lower Mainland is good, however, Metro Vancouver’s air quality advisory remains in place due to ground-level ozone levels.
“The advisory began on July 8, 2024, and will remain in effect until further notice,” the regional district said.
On Wednesday, the BC Wildfire Service hinted people in the Lower Mainland may start smelling smoke due to a wildfire burning in Washington, but Lam says the winds don’t appear to be strong enough Thursday for any of that air to waft north.
In the meantime, it’s unclear if the weather is playing a role in keeping 911 call takers busier than usual.
E-Comm 911 tells CityNews things were busy this past weekend.
“Over the weekend we received approximately 13,700 911 calls which is 24 per cent higher than the average so far in 2024, but lower than the same weekend in July last year,” it said in a statement.
The same weekend as last year didn’t see the same type of extreme heat the region is currently facing.
“Checking in with the operations teams they had no major issues beyond the usual volume of accidental calls that we see consistently,” it went on to say.
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