Heat dome; Extreme temperatures in Canada & US.

Over the past years, the middle eastern country Kuwait has made headlines in news tabloids for experiencing the highest temperatures ever recorded – 53.2 Celsius; but in 2021, it is Canada that has experienced high temperatures and broken records. This, in turn, has caused hundreds of people to succumb to death including 500 people in the province of British Columbia. Various reports have emerged which have disclosed that the Canadian village of Lytton recorded a temperature of 49 degrees Celsius last week- the highest the country has ever experienced.

Unfortunately, this unexpected and deadly wave of heat has travelled over to Canada’s neighbouring nation – The United States of America, which has proven to be deadly for numerous Americans as well. In the last week, temperatures in Washington and Oregon shot up to more than 38 degrees celsius. The Oregon state medical examiner disclosed that the state’s death toll ‘reached at least 79, with most occurring in Multnomah County. Twenty fatalities in Washington have been linked to the heatwave and state authorities anticipate that the number will only rise. Even the state of New York is preparing itself for any heat-related emergencies.

Consequently, the whole world was shocked and intrigued as to what could be the potential cause behind the aforementioned tragedies when it was revealed that an alleged heat dome was responsible for the heatwave.

What is a heat dome and what part does it play in rising temperatures? According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a heat dome emerges when the torrid summer air gets trapped ‘under an atmospheric lid’. The organization further went on to explain that a “strong change in ocean temperatures from west to east in the tropical Pacific Ocean during the preceding winter” is also responsible for the aforementioned phenomenon. In order to explain the effect of a heat dome, NOAA compared the phenomenon to a swimming pool placed in the summer months. The pool would remain cool as areas surrounding it would become increasingly heated.

Considering the history of Earth, heatwaves are not a recent occurrence. In fact, we have experienced them in quite a regular pattern.

What caused this particular heatwave to be more intense and have such drastic effects? It is no secret that man’s activities have contributed to the rise of global warming, especially in the last 5 years as the year 2016 broke records for being the hottest year ever in the history of mankind. A rise in global warming has not only paved the path for an increase in the number of heatwaves experienced but has also proliferated their duration. Referring to this increase, Michael E Mann, professor of atmospheric science and the director of the Earth System Science Center has asserted that the number of heatwaves in the 21st century has multiplied by over three times than in the 1960s.

While the temperatures in Oregon, Washington and Portland have cooled down due to heavy precipitation, the conditions in Canada are consistently deteriorating and we can only hope that the citizens of the North American country do not have to suffer more. The rest of the world stands in solidarity with them during this difficult time.

---