VANCOUVER — Environment Canada has issued weather warnings as parts of southern British Columbia brace for several days of withering heat.
The weather office says the inner south coast — including eastern Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, Howe Sound, the southern Gulf Islands, Victoria and Vancouver — will see temperatures climb to at least 28 C, although conditions should be cooler close to the water.
Heat will be even more intense in the southern Interior where the mercury is slated to hit at least 35 C in the Fraser Canyon, South Thompson and Nicola regions and the Okanagan Valley.
Forecasters say conditions should ease slightly by mid-week.
Environment Canada says temperatures are not out of the ordinary for this time of year, but warns extreme heat carries health risks — especially for young children, pregnant women, the elderly, those with chronic illnesses or anyone working or exercising outdoors.
The Fraser Valley community of Lytton claimed the title of Canadian hot spot on Sunday at 37.1 C and is forecast to reach 39 C.
That's nowhere the village's all-time high of 44.4 C set on this date 77 years ago.
