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Climate and Environment

    • Heat waves and flooding: A look at recent severe weather events in Canada and around the world

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    As the world nears the halfway mark of 2023, countries including Canada have encountered a number of severe weather events in recent weeks from major flooding to wildfires.

    With last year being one of the warmest on record, a waning three-year-long La Nina that is normally associated with cooler temperatures, as well as a possible warming El Nino later this year, could mean a hotter 2023.

    But as climate change helps drive global temperature increases, the concern is that warming will make extreme weather events such as heat waves, floods, droughts and storms worse, more frequent or both.

    CTVNews.ca looks at some of the major weather events that have hit Canada and the globe recently.

    WILDFIRES AND HEAT WAVES

    A heat wave in Western Canada this weekend could make worse, with temperatures forecast to hit 30 C or higher in parts of Alberta.

    Officials say wildfire smoke and fog contributed to a that sent 16 people to hospital.

    Elsewhere in the world, more than 54,000 hectares of forests in Russia's Ural Mountains were on fire as of Monday.

    And temperatures have gotten so hot in Spain that the country on Wednesday said it plans to ban outdoor work during periods of extreme heat.

    Last year was Spain's hottest on record dating back to 1961 and much of the country is experiencing drought.

    FLOODING AND STORMS

    Locally, the federal government has issued a on parts of the Ottawa River due flooding.

    Areas in the B.C. Interior are seeing some of their worst flooding in years, including the town of .

    Officials say warm weather would likely trigger snowmelt and further flood threats. Earlier this month, in B.C.'s Interior.

    This week, Manitoba experienced multiple tornado and storm warnings, bringing the size of ping pong balls.

    At the same time, Environment Canada issued a for parts of Saskatchewan.

    Heavy rain caused major flooding in southwestern Germany this past week, closing train routes and leaving some people trapped in their homes. The rain flooded roads and caused landslides in some areas.

    Authorities in Auckland, New Zealand, the country's largest city, declared a state of emergency on Tuesday due to flooding.

    Emergency personnel have responded to hundreds of calls, many for floodwaters entering buildings, landslides, falling trees and trapped cars.

    This comes after flooding in Auckland back in January killed four people. The following month, Cyclone Gabrielle struck the island leaving another 11 people dead and thousands displaced.

    Flooding in eastern Congo has killed around 400 people as of last Sunday and earlier this month, more than 100 people died from flooding in Rwanda.

    Meanwhile, officials in Bangladesh and Myanmar are warning hundreds of thousands of people to stay away from coastal areas due to a severe cyclone that is expected to hit land Sunday.

    Multiple regions in the U.S. have experienced tornadoes and flooding recently, threatening homes along the Mississippi River.

    In the past month, tornadoes killed at least three people in Oklahoma and at least five in Missouri.

    California, which saw weeks of severe storms early in the year combined with a heavy snowpack, is preparing for more flooding — although the rain and snowfall has helped alleviate longstanding drought conditions in the state.

    With files from CTVNewsEdmonton.ca Digital Producer Alex Antoneshyn, Â鶹ӰÊÓ Ottawa Digital Multi-Skilled Journalist Ted Raymond, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Reporter Lisa Steacy, CTVNewsWinnipeg.ca Digital Editorial Producer Devon McKendrick, CTVNewsRegina.ca Digital Content Producer Drew Postey, The Canadian Press, The Associated Press and Reuters

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    N.L.

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