By /Special to 91原创 Advance Times
I鈥檒l never forget the intense heat as we drove across the Mojave Desert.
Knowing what temperatures awaited us, my family had loaded up with ice cubes, which served as our air conditioning.
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I was just 11, and car air conditioning was not nearly as common back then.
The Mojave Desert is just south of Death Valley, Calif., which holds many of the world鈥檚 top heat records 鈥� including the hottest air temperature reported on earth of 57 潞C (135 潞F) in 1913.
On June 29, when the all-time record Canadian temperature of 49 潞C (121 潞F) was recorded in Lytton, B.C., the only place in North America that matched it was 鈥� you guessed it 鈥� Death Valley.
Like Death Valley, the Fraser Canyon 鈥� where Lytton is situated 鈥� is primed for heat extremes, with its relatively low elevation creating a heat sink during heatwaves.
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Also like Death Valley, it lies in the lee of coastal mountains, creating bone-dry conditions, and the dry conditions coupled with the hot winds that get sucked up the canyon can fuel wildfires.
And so it was in the terrifying aftermath of the record breaking temperatures of the June heatwave, that the entire town of Lytton was engulfed by flames on July 1 鈥� with residents only given a few minutes warning to evacuate.
Many of the fires ignited around that time are still burning as I initially wrote this on Aug. 30. Of course numbers have subsided since, and the rains are helping.
There are 232 active wildfires including 17 fires 鈥渉ighly visible鈥� or 鈥減osing a potential threat to public safety鈥� like the massive 81,000 ha White Rock Lake fire between Kelowna and Kamloops.
The usual way to connect the dots between such extreme events and climate change is to say climate change 鈥渕ade it worse.鈥�
This time an international team of 27 climate scientists went one step further.
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In of the June 2021 heatwave in western North America, the authors declared that a heatwave of this magnitude was 鈥渧irtually impossible without human-caused climate change.鈥�
Behind 鈥渧irtually impossible鈥� were their calculations that this 鈥渙ne in 1,000 years event鈥� would have been 150 times rarer in the absence of human-induced climate change, i.e., one in 150,000.
Referring to this incredible finding, and others, in a , Harvard and had this advice for treating 鈥渢he patient.鈥�
鈥淥ur collective failure to respond in a timely manner has led to a bleak prognosis: a hazardous and even potentially fatal outcome for human populations globally鈥� Without aggressive treatment, the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] projects a temperature increase of 2掳C by around mid-century鈥� But rapid and aggressive intervention can still limit warming to 1.5掳C and avert the most dangerous consequences.鈥�
Let鈥檚 hope we can prevent future 鈥渘ear Death Valley experiences鈥� by working towards a healthier planet.
鈥� PhD, is a professor of biology and environmental studies at Trinity Western University
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