Machibet777 LoginHeat dome kills at least 500 people across Canada, Oregon and Washington as temps reach 118F - hotter than Death Valley | The Sun - Machibet Bet

MERCURY melting temperatures have now left 500 people dead in Canada, Oregon, and Washington as the historic heatwave grips the West Coast.

The grim toll comes as just yesterday, were reported dead in British Columbia since Friday when temperatures reached a scorching 121F.

People sleep at a cooling shelter set up in PortlandCredit: Reuters

A Salvation Army EMS vehicle is setup as a cooling station as people lineup to get into a splash park while trying to beat the heat in Calgary, AlbertaCredit: AP

A neighbour cools off under a mist system and shade structure of a cooling-off station that neighbors set up in a front yardCredit: Reuters

Seattle, Portland, and many other US cities shattered all-time heat records, with temperatures in some places reaching above 118F.

In Portland, temperatures rose to 116F on Monday, .

While in Canada, British Columbia's chief coroner, Lisa Lapointe, said her office received reports of at least 486 "sudden and unexpected deaths" between Friday and Wednesday.

Normally, she said about 165 people would die in the province over a five-day period.

"While it is too early to say with certainty how many of these deaths are heat related, it is believed likely that the significant increase in deaths reported is attributable to the extreme weather," LaPointe said in a statement.

Many were found alone without air conditioning or even a fan to aid them through the fever, leaving people ill-prepared for soaring temperatures.

"Vancouver has never experienced heat like this, and sadly dozens of people are dying because of it," Vancouver police Sgt Steve Addison said in a statement..

More than a dozen deaths in Washington state have been linked to the heat, a number that was expected to rise.

The King County medical examiner's office, which covers an area that includes Seattle, said two people died of hyperthermia, meaning their bodies had became dangerously overheated.

In neighboring Snohomish County, three men - ages 51, 75 and 77 - died after experiencing heatstroke in their homes, the medical examiner's office told in Everett, Washington, on Tuesday.

Firefighters check on the welfare of a man in Mission Park in Spokane, WashingtonCredit: AP

People rest at the Oregon Convention Center cooling station in OregonCredit: AFP

How a 'heat dome' creates unbearably hot conditions

The heatwave was caused by what meteorologists described as a dome of high pressure over the Northwest and worsened by human-caused climate change, which is making such extreme weather events more likely and more intense.

Amid the dangerous heat and drought that is gripping the American West, crews were closely monitoring wildfires that can explode in the intense weather.

In Lytton, British Columbia, there were several reports of buildings on fire on Wednesday after the region recorded Canada's highest-ever temperature for three days in a row.

While the temperatures had cooled considerably in western Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia by Wednesday, the interior regions were still sweating through triple-digit temperatures as the weather system moved east.

The government's Environment Canada agency issued heat warnings Wednesday for the provinces of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Heat warnings also were in place for parts of states such as Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.

In Alberta, "a prolonged, dangerous, and historic heatwave will persist through this week," Environment Canada said in a release.

The very high temperatures or humidity conditions also were expected to pose an elevated risk of heat stroke or heat exhaustion.

Officials in Bremerton, Washington, said heat may have contributed to four deaths in that Puget Sound city.

A man tries to cool off in the water amid the scorching temperaturesCredit: AP

Portland's fire department cancelled July 4th fireworks due to the heatCredit: AP

The death of a worker at an Oregon plant nursery last weekend was heat-related, employee safety agency Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration said on Tuesday.

The man was from Guatemala and had apparently arrived in the U.S. only a few months ago, said Andres Pablo Lucas, owner of Brother Farm Labor Contractor that sent the man and other workers to the nursery.

The man, whose name was not released, died amid sweltering temperatures Saturday at Ernst Nursery and Farms, a wholesale supplier in St Paul, 20 miles north of the capital of Salem.

Speaking in Spanish, Pablo Lucas said that when workers gathered shortly afternoon on Saturday, they noticed someone was missing.

They began searching and found his body. Pablo Lucas said he didn't remember the man's name.

The laborers often have the option to start working around sunrise when it is cooler and can stop around midday, but some want to stay regardless of the heat, Pablo Lucas said.

"The people want to work, to fight to succeed. For that reason, they stay," he said.

The United Farm Workers urged Washington Gov Jay Inslee to issue emergency heat standards protecting all farm and other outdoor workers in the state with a strong agricultural sector.

In western Washington, the heat led a utility in Spokane to impose rolling blackouts because of the strain on the electrical grid.