Century-old temperature record falls in B.C. as province marks heat dome anniversary

The downtown Vancouver skyline is silhouetted at sunset on Monday, July 11, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Heat records were shattered across British Columbia this week, with many communities marking their warmest June 23 in decades.

One region—the Powell River area on the Sunshine Coast—surpassed a 100-year-old high-temperature record when it hit 31.6 C on Tuesday, outdoing the old record of 28.9 C set in 1926, according to data released by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

In total, 20 new heat records were set while one community, Chetwynd, tied its previous high-temperate record for the date.

The warmest new record was set in the Squamish area, where the mercury reached 34.1 C, while other communities also achieved the 34 C benchmark.

The records fell as the province prepares to mark the fifth anniversary of the deadly 2021 heat dome this week.

The extreme heat wave contributed to more than 600 deaths, according to a provincial coroner’s report, as temperatures soared above 40 C for several days.

The full list of heat records broken on Tuesday follows:

• Abbotsford: New record of 33.0, old record of 30.2 set in 1992
• Agassiz: New record of 32.9, old record of 31.5 set in 1989
• Bella Bella: New record of 27.6, old record of 25.1 set in 1989
• Chetwynd: Tied record of 28.7 set in 2014
• Comox: New record of 31.5, old record of 28.9 set in 1989
• Courtenay: New record of 31.5, old record of 28.9 set in 1989
• Duncan: New record of 32.9, old record of 30.6 set in 1940
• Fort St. John: New record of 28.8, old record of 27.8 set in 1955
• Hope: New record of 34.0, old record of 32.3 set in 1989
• Kitimat: New record of 29.6, old record of 29.4 set in 1958
• Mackenzie: New record of 28.9, old record of 28.2 set in 2004
• Nanaimo: New record of 32.2, old record of 31.1 set in 1992
• Pitt Meadows: New record of 34.0, old record of 31.0 set in 1992
• Port Hardy: New record of 24.2, old record of 21.1 set in 1961
• Powell River: New record of 31.6, old record of 28.9 set in 1926
• Qualicum Beach: New record of 32.2, old record of 27.5 set in 1992
• Sechelt: New record of 32.4, old record of 26.1 set in 1958
• Squamish: New record of 34.1, old record of 29.6 set in 2023
• Tofino: New record of 28.9, old record of 27.4 set in 1989
• Victoria-Gonzales Point: New record of 30.4, old record of 26.6 set in 2017
• West Vancouver: New record of 32.1, old record of 29.5 set in 1989

Environment Canada says the records are preliminary and the exact temperature data can be revised when a final report is compiled.