By Canadian Press

Lytton records hottest temperature across Canada this year as province bakes

Aug 26, 2025 | 8:40 PM

LYTTON — The Village of Lytton is living up to its reputation as the hottest location in Canada.

Temperatures in the Fraser Canyon community have surpassed 40 C for three consecutive days, including 40.3 C on Sunday (Aug. 24) and 41.3 C on Monday and Tuesday (Aug. 25 and 26).

That is the hottest temperature recorded across the country so far this year, and smashed Lytton’s previous daily record of 37.2 C set on Aug. 25, 1934, and the old Aug. 26 record of 36.6 C set in 1986.

The blazing conditions that also saw temperatures in Lytton hit 40.3 C on Sunday is part of an ongoing heat wave that continues to scorch much of British Columbia.

According to Environment Canada, there were 14 daily temperature records set in B.C. on Sunday, 16 on Monday and 29 on Tuesday this week.

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A number of Southern Interior communities like Kamloops, Clearwater, Cache Creek and Clinton have set new daily records on each of the last three days, while Blue River and Williams Lake set new records on Monday and Tuesday.

Lillooet, which set new records of Sunday and Tuesday, joined Lytton as the only other B.C. community to cross the 40 C threshold this week. It reached a temperature of 40.4 C on Tuesday, which surpassed the old Aug. 29 record of 36.7 C set in 1933.

Environment Canada has maintained heat warnings for several areas, including the Fraser Canyon and southern parts of the Thompson and Okanagan regions, where daily highs reaching 35 to 39 C are forecast until the end of the week.

Matt Loney, a meteorologist with the department, said the heat was expected to ease on Friday as cooler marine air arrives along the coast and trickles into the Interior, though the first week of September is expected to be hotter than normal.

A heat warning is also in effect for inland sections of the north and central coasts, while a heat-related special weather statement covers much of Vancouver Island.

Loney said the ridge of high pressure that has brought late-season heat to B.C. may “cut off” the cooler system expected to move over the province.

“It’s going to be kind of a standoff,” he said. “The computer models are suggesting that the upper ridge might win out and actually be able to stall the upper low and even send it back retrograding westward.”

Loney said that means parts of B.C. may see a warmer first week of September with less rain than normal, but the forecast becomes less clear after that.

Overall, temperatures are declining as fall approaches, he says.

“Generally speaking, they’re on their downward trend. But as we’ve seen, you can still hit 40 degrees this late in the year.”

Lytton has hit 41 C as late as Aug. 30 in the past, Loney added.

In 2021, Lytton set the record for Canada’s hottest temperature of 49.6 C. The next day, a wildfire destroyed most of the village.

The number of wildfires across B.C. has been holding steady at about 70, while BC Wildfire Service has warned the hot, dry conditions would raise the fire risk.

The service’s figures show seven fires are classified as burning out of control, including the Sailor Bar fire in the Fraser Canyon. The fire had been mapped at 120 hectares, but the service updated the size of the blaze to 111 hectares on Tuesday.

It said crews saw “minimal” growth overnight and Tuesday’s operational focus was working with CN Rail to access areas at the top of the blaze.

Evacuation alerts for the Yale and Spuzzum areas remain in effect due to the fire.

– With files from Darryl Greer/The Canadian Press and Victor Kaisar/CFJC Today

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2025.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press