By Amanda Stephenson
CALGARY, June 30 (Reuters) – From flooding to extreme heat, Canadians on both sides of the country are grappling with wild weather ahead of Wednesday’s Canada Day holiday.
In Toronto and other parts of Eastern Canada, dangerously hot conditions on Tuesday prompted Environment Canada to issue a heat warning and urge residents to check on the welfare of older adults and people living alone.
Temperatures in parts of Ontario and Quebec are expected to reach 34 to 37 degrees Celsius (93 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday and Thursday, coinciding with the holiday and the last World Cup game in Toronto. In that city, the heat wave has prompted officials to establish mobile drinking water stations in parks and to extend swimming pool hours.
In Toronto, the temperature might feel like 40 C (104 F) when Portugal plays Croatia on Thursday in soccer’s World Cup because of the humidity, said Dr. Michelle Murti, City of Toronto’s medical officer of health.
Health officials are also preparing for a possible thunderstorm, which could lead to cancellation of some viewing parties.
“This is an additional challenge we are dealing with, even though the possibility of it remains low,” Murti said. City officials have extended the hours of community centers and public swimming pools and added cooling stations around public spaces for fans to watch the game.
In Western Canada, heavy rainfall has caused flooding and dangerously high stream conditions in parts of Alberta, prompting evacuation alerts and stranding up to 1,500 campers in the popular recreation area of Kananaskis on Monday due to flooding-related road closures.
In Calgary, where the Calgary Stampede is set to begin on Friday, flows on the Bow and Elbow rivers are expected to remain high through Wednesday. Smoke from wildfires in northern Saskatchewan also moved into the city this week, prompting officials to issue an air quality warning.
Significant rainfall is forecast for parts of eastern Saskatchewan and western Manitoba over the next few days. In parts of Manitoba, officials have warned that water levels on lakes and reservoirs could rise by 1 to 3 feet (0.3 to 0.9 meters), and overland flooding is possible.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary, and Divya Rajagopal in TorontoEditing by Rod Nickel)
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