A heatwave in Quebec has killed at least 19 people over the past week as high summer temperatures scorched eastern Canada, health officials said on Wednesday.
Twelve of the dead were reported in the eastern province’s capital of Montreal, Montreal Health Director Mylene Drouin said.
The Tribune newspaper said that five of the deaths occurred over the past three days in Eastern Townships, a rural area just east of the city.
Late on Wednesday, two more deaths blamed on the heat were recorded in a Montreal suburb, Radio Canada reported.
“My thoughts are with the loved ones of those who have died in Quebec during this heat wave,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Twitter.
“The record temperatures are expected to continue in central and eastern Canada, so make sure you know how to protect yourself and your family,” Trudeau said.
The victims were part of “the very vulnerable population, the elderly or people suffering from chronic or mental illnesses,” Drouin said.
Temperatures soared to 34°C with a humidity that made it feel closer to 40°C, the meteorological service said.
Since Friday last week, the mercury has regularly topped 30°C in southern Quebec, accompanied by stifling humidity levels.
A government heat warning is in place for the region, but meteorologists are forecasting a drop in temperatures at the end of the week.
No deaths had yesterday been reported for the same period in the neighboring province of Ontario, which has also sizzled under extremely high temperatures.
In 2010, a heat wave killed about 100 people in the Montreal area.
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