Heatwave wreaks havoc in Canada's western coast

Ottawa, July 15: The western Canadian region on the Pacific coast has been gripped by heatwave, with reports of increased wildfires, media reported on Tuesday.

Weather officials said that temperatures in northern British Columbia were 8 to 10 degrees above normal, and record-high temperatures were also monitored in four communities, Xinhua reported.

The average high temperature has been hovering around 40.5 degrees centigrade, the officials said.

There were 63 wildfires reported in the province, and the biggest fires were in the province's northern areas.

In downtown Vancouver, the temperature exceeded 32 degrees centigrade and heatwave is expected to continue through this week.

IANS