Northwest and western Canada was virtually impossible without human-caused
climate change that added a few extra degrees to the record-smashing temperatures, a new quick
scientific analysis found.
scientists calculated that
heat occurring by at least 150 times, but likely much more.
The study, not yet peer reviewed, said that before the industrial era, the region's late June triple-digit
heat was the type that would not have happened in human civilization. And even in today's warming world, it said, the
heat was a once-in-a-millennium event.
But that once-in-a-millennium event would likely occur every five to 10 years once the world warms another 1.4 degrees (0.8 degrees Celsius), said Wednesday's study from World Weather Attribution. That much warming could be 40 or 50 years away if carbon pollution continues at its current pace, one study author said.