ROTHENBURGER: We’re over-using the term ‘heatwave’ to describe our weather

Climate change and global warming — or global boiling, as some now describe it — are certainly upon us.

I suggest, though, that taken in isolation, this week’s hot weather isn’t much more extreme than we’re accustomed to in the middle of August. It is not the heat dome of two years ago, when temperatures rose well above 40 in some parts of the province for a full week and a half, and 619 people died.

This week’s hot weather began Monday and is expected to be over by end of day Thursday, with temperatures rising to the high 30s but certainly not expected to hit the extremes of 2021.

It comes after several days of cool weather and will be replaced at the end of the week with another cooler spell.

Again, this doesn’t mean we don’t have to be careful. Neither does it mean we can ignore the accumulating effects of climate change, but the media should stop sensationalizing a few days of hot weather as being more than it is.

A “heat wave,” a common term being used to describe the few days of elevated temperatures this week, is properly identified as “a prolonged period of abnormally hot weather.”

What we have right now is neither prolonged nor particularly abnormal. So let’s deal with it but keep our eye on the big picture, keep our cool, and keep things in context.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by Mel Rothenburger

ROTHENBURGER: We’re over-using the term ‘heatwave’ to describe our weather

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