Midale, Yellow Grass lose Canada's Hottest Spot title

YELLOW GRASS -

The towns of Midale and Yellow Grass have lost the title of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Canada this week as Lytton, B.C. passed it on Sunday and again on Monday.

The Saskatchewan towns set the record in 1937.

“It’s kind of disappointing in one way, but in another that’s just what life is about,” Allan Hauglum, the mayor of Midale, said. “Records get broken, and somebody else has the honour of having that record now.”

On Monday, Lytton hit 47.9 degrees.

“Often in the summertime we hit 36, 38, 39, even 40 degrees, but 46 is abnormally high,” Jan Polderman, the mayor of Lytton, said.

CTV Regina meteorologist Bradlyn Oakes said the high temperatures are due to a heat dome which is holding hot air over western Canada. The magnitude and heat of this wave haven’t been seen in Canada before.

“Unfortunately because we are watching increased CO2 emissions in the atmosphere and watching the impacts of climate change, we do see that heat events are going to become much more common,” Oakes said.

Midale’s mayor said although it was an honour to hold the hottest spot title for 84 years, he’s not looking to reclaim it anytime soon.

The towns of Midale and Yellow Grass both have signs up to recognize the longstanding titles, and although they records have been broken, the signs won’t be coming down.