Temperatures climb above 40C, while a powerful hailstorm in the US lashes Kansas and Oklahoma
A spate of extremely hot weather in British Columbia has broken Canada’s national maximum temperature record for September.
On Tuesday, it reached 40C (104F) in Lytton, matching the previous all-time high. That was only the third time that temperature has been recorded in the country in September.
The mercury rose again the following day, climbing to 40.8C in nearby Ashcroft. It has been an intensely hot and dry summer across Canada, which has fuelled an extreme fire season – its second worst on record. The country experienced its worst wildfire season on record in 2023, when more than 17m hectares (42m acres) burned.
Smoke from wildfires has travelled over the Atlantic this summer, bringing hazy skies to Britain. Extreme heat and damaging wildfire seasons are expected to continue as the climate crisis alters weather patterns around the world.
