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The heat wave thoughout the U.S. and Canada has left a toll of several hundred deaths in the last week aloje.
Several hundred people is the balance, so far, of the heat wave that has been affecting western Canada and the United States for several days, according to the health authorities of both countries.
In the Canadian province of British Columbia, 486 people have died suddenly in five days, 361 more than during similar weather events in the past, according to information from the federal agency's chief medical examiner, Lisa Lapointe.
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Although the causes of the deaths have not been determined in all cases, doctors consider very likely that high temperatures are responsible, in a context in which the thermometer reached upwards of 49.6 degrees last Tuesday.
That record high occurred in the small town of Lytton, in the interior of British Columbia, which prompted an evacuation order for the town on Wednesday night linked to an out-of-control forest fire.
On the death toll, Lapointe said it is "preliminary" and will most likely continue to rise in the coming days because most of the deceased were people living alone in poorly ventilated homes.
UPDATE—63 people died across Oregon due to the recent heat wave. Portland reached an all time high of 116° Monday.
— Tevin Wooten (@TevinWooten) July 1, 2021
The age of the deceased were 44 to 97. Many had underlying health conditions, died alone and were without air conditioning or a fan.
We need #ClimateActionNow.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Dr. Jennifer Vines, of the Multnomah County Health Services, in Oregon, described as "a real health crisis" the heat wave that may have left at least 63 dead in that state and another 13 in Washington state.
Also in this case, the forensic services of the county of explained that most of the deceased, between 44 and 97 years of age, died unaccompanied in rooms without air conditioning or fans.
In both Canada and the United States, most of the heat-related fatalities have been elderly, according to authorities, who pointed to the high proportion of elderly people.
These events are the result of the displacement of the so-called "heat dome", a phenomenon of high atmospheric pressure that blocks the entry of other weather phenomenon, a natural condition that has worsened due to climate change, according to meteorologists.
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