B.C. climate news: Glacial lake outburst triggers flooding northeast of Pemberton| First Nations seek details on proposed pipeline | Western Europe braces for repeated heat waves through July

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The warnings, which cover Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and a handful of areas in the Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan, are classified as either yellow or orange, depending on how high temperatures are expected to soar.

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Environment Canada says these warnings are put in place when hazardous weather may cause damage, disruption, or health impacts. For yellow warnings, impacts are moderate, localized and/or short-term, while orange warnings indicate major impacts that are widespread and/or may last a few days.

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In Ontario, there were 38 orange warnings for heat at the time of writing, as well as 40 yellow warnings. Alberta has 31 yellow heat warnings in place, while there are seven in the Northwest Territories, 60 in Quebec and four in Saskatchewan.

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—Ellie Hutchings

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File photo of a man in the U.K. stocking up on water during a heat wave. Photo by Dan Kitwood /Getty Images

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As Europe’s record-breaking heat wave recedes, the elements for the next hot spell are coalescing over the Atlantic Ocean.

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Over the next few days, a region of high pressure is forecast to approach the continent and spread, pushing out cooler weather and resurrecting unusually hot conditions across Spain, France and the U.K. Highs over Portugal and southern Spain are expected to reach 43 C and 41 C, respectively, this week, while Paris hit 30 C by Friday and London will hit 31 C on Monday.

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Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heat waves on the world’s fastest-warming continent, straining health, transport and power systems, while exposing the housing vulnerabilities of cities like London. Still, the third heat wave to hit western Europe since the last week of May is unlikely to bring the extreme temperatures that seared the region last month, according to U.K. Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill.

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“At this stage it doesn’t look like it will be as exceptionally hot or as humid as it was for many of us last week,” Burkill said in a video briefing. The high pressure is set to raise average temperatures from 3 C to 7 C across the region next week.

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—Bloomberg News

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July heat wave threat keeps European power prices elevated

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The risk of more heat waves this month is keeping European power prices elevated after June’s record temperatures pushed costs to their highest levels since the 2022 energy crisis.

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Power prices surged as record temperatures swept across Europe, boosting demand for cooling while constraining supply. The episode highlighted how increasingly extreme heat linked to climate change can disrupt electricity markets in multiple ways, a pattern seen around the world.

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Forecasts show an elevated risk of further heat waves across the UK, Spain, Germany and France this month. The next spell of hot weather, while not expected to match June’s extremes, could meet the UK’s heat-wave threshold as early as this weekend, said the Met Office.

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Temperatures across much of Europe are forecast to run 2 C to 8 C above seasonal norms, according to Vaisala meteorologist Matthew Dross. By mid-month, France could again become the epicentre of extreme heat as high pressure, unusually warm seas and soils dried out by previous heat waves reinforce one another, he said.

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—Bloomberg News

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Climate-fuelled heat waves increasing in Canada: climate scientists

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Climate change, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, is causing more frequent and intense heat waves that are threatening the safety and health of Canadians — even in cities that have historically had more moderate climates, such as Vancouver, Whitehorse, and Halifax, the Canadian Climate Institute warned this week.

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In an updated fact sheet posted Thursday, scientists with the institute said globally, 2025 was one of the hottest years on record, while the past 11 years have been the warmest on record.