Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Vancouver Island and other parts of BC.
According to the weather statement, a strengthening ridge of high pressure is expected to bring increasing temperatures to the south coast as the week progresses.
Beginning Wednesday, daytime high temperatures will rise into the high 20s near the water to low 30s inland.
Overnight lows will also rise into the mid to high teens.
Thursday to Saturday are expected to be the hottest days during the heat wave with Saturday seeing highs of at least 29°C.
The highest temperatures are expected to be in the Fraser Valley, Sea to Sky region, and inland Vancouver Island.
This week’s heatwave will be the second of the season.
From June 25th to July 1st, the unforgiving heat had devastating effects all around BC.
During that period, Island Health reported that double the amount of deaths were recorded than what was typically seen during the week in the previous five years.
According to the BC Coroners Service, at least 719 people died over a one-week period during BC’s scorching heat wave, three times more than would normally have been expected to die over the same period.
97 of those deaths occurred on Vancouver Island. The five-year average is 41.6 deaths over the same seven-day period.
During the heat wave, Victoria hit a new record of 38.6 C from an old record of 27.8 set in 1951.
Lytton broke the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada, hitting a scorching 49.6 C on Tuesday, June 29th.
