east of Canada suffocates Thursday 1^um June due to an extreme heat wave that raises fears of a resurgence Forest fires devastating a country that is already facing an “unprecedented” year.

In total, more than 210 fires are currently active in the country, 82 of which are out of control. And by 2023, more than 2.7 million hectares will have burned, eight times the average over the past 30 years, Canadian authorities said. “These conditions are absolutely unprecedented at this stage of the season and are obviously a cause for concern,” said Bill Blair, Secretary of State for Civil Protection.

After the west of the country and the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan at the beginning of May, it is now the east and especially Nova Scotia that have been hit by large fires due to very bad weather. hot and dry in a province not used to fires.

“It’s a fact: Canada is experiencing the effects of climate change, including more frequent and more extreme wildfires,” noted Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, recalling that the area of ​​burnt forests here is expected to double by 2050.

“Breathtaking”

Nova Scotia, which has been the focus of everyone’s concerns for the past few days, had 16 fires active Thursday. About 200 houses were destroyed and nearly 20,000 people evacuated. “Stunning numbers,” said Tim Houston, the province’s premier.

And with the arrival of an extreme heat wave and strong winds, “we’re far from over the hill,” said David Steeves of the Department of Natural Resources, speaking of a “very dangerous and volatile” situation.

Firefighters from the USA and South Africa are expected as reinforcements in the coming days. “We need Mother Nature to help us through this,” added David Steeves.

One of the major fires reached the suburbs of the provincial capital, Halifax, forcing authorities to evacuate more than 16,000 people northwest of the city. It appears to be partially under control now. But another fire near Lake Barrington is under close scrutiny as it is still out of control after devastating 20,000 hectares. It is the largest fire ever recorded in the province.

heat records

Record temperatures were reached in several places in eastern Canada’s other provinces, particularly Quebec and Ontario. According to Environment Canada, the thermometer in Toronto shows 30.7 °C, beating the previous daily record of 28.3 °C from 1948.

In Montreal, where the thermometer hit 34C while the previous record was just under 30C, Line, with his construction jacket open and his tank top soaked, tries to protect himself at one of the city’s many construction sites. “It’s hot, but we’re watering, we’re getting wet. This is the only way we can continue with the work,” she explains.

A few meters away, Nora marvels at the “radical change” just two weeks after barely positive temperatures and wonders “what can be done”. In the city, “more trees would really make sense,” she says with the white cap on her head. On the streets of Ottawa, Christine put a wet jacket on her dog: “It keeps it out of the heat.” “Welcome to Miami,” she quips.

In the west of the country, a month after the fires broke out that forced Alberta to declare a state of emergency, more than 60 fires were still ongoing and more than 1.13 million hectares were already burning. In the neighboring province of Saskatchewan, one of the country’s breadbaskets, about twenty fires were counted and more than 850,000 hectares went up in smoke.

Canada, which due to its geographical location is warming faster than the rest of the planet, has faced extreme weather events in recent years, the intensity and frequency of which have increased as a result of climate change.

With AFP