Sweltering Canada sees scores of deaths

Scores of deaths in Canada's Vancouver area are likely linked to a grueling heat wave, authorities said on Tuesday, as the country recorded its highest ever temperature amid scorching conditions that extended to the US Pacific Northwest.

At least 134 people have died suddenly since Friday in the Vancouver area, figures released by the city police department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police showed.

The Vancouver Police Department alone said it had responded to more than 65 sudden deaths since Friday, with the vast majority "related to the heat".

Canada set a new all-time high temperature record for a third day in a row on Tuesday, reaching 49.5 C in Lytton, British Columbia. Other local municipalities said they have responded to many sudden death calls, but have yet to release tolls.

Climate change is causing record-setting temperatures to become more frequent than they used to be. Globally, the decade to 2019 was the hottest recorded. The five hottest years have all occurred within the last five years.

The scorching heat stretching from the US state of Oregon to Canada's Arctic territories has been blamed on a high-pressure ridge trapping warm air in the region.

Temperatures in the US Pacific Northwest cities of Portland and Seattle reached levels not seen since record-keeping began in the 1940s. It hit 46.1 C in Portland and 42.2 C in Seattle on Monday, the National Weather Service said.