Daily heat records tumble again in B.C., as drought conditions worsen
Unseasonable warmth over much of British Columbia is showing no sign of easing, with another day of temperature records in the books and many regions reporting no significant rain since early July.
Environment Canada says 11 daily maximum temperature records were set Wednesday across parts of Vancouver Island, the central coast, southern Interior and southeastern B.C.
At 26.9 C, the Pemberton area broke a record that has stood since 1908.
Port Alberni and Vernon, with nearly identical temperatures just above 25 C, surpassed records that have stood for 122 years.
Normal temperatures for early October usually range from 14 C to 16 C in those cities.
The Ministry of Forests has ranked Vancouver Island, the inner south coast and northeastern B.C. at the second-most severe level of drought on a five-point rating scale.
The Sunshine Coast Regional District has also opened an emergency operations centre as it confronts severe drought in a key water system.
The district is using a siphon system to pull additional water from Chapman Lake to feed the critically low Chapman water system, which supplies drinking water to roughly 90 per cent of Sunshine Coast residents.
“The last day of significant rainfall on the Sunshine Coast was over 80 days ago on July 6, and Environment Canada has informed us not to expect any significant rainfall for at least the next two weeks,” the district's chief administration officer Dean McKinley said in a statement posted last week.
The district was expected to install new siphons this week at Edwards Lake, the district's secondary reservoir, McKinley said.
The Sunshine Coast Regional District has imposed its most stringent water restrictions and is backing those with increased enforcement and $500 fines for anyone using drinking water for outdoor use.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.