B.C. Interior regions brace for scorching heat this weekend

Environment Canada says unseasonably hot weather in British Columbia's Okanagan, Thompsonand Boundary regions will push temperatures into the mid-30s this weekend.

The forecaster issued heat warnings Friday covering portions of the province's Interior, saying the hot weather was expected to persist through Sunday.

The agency says daytime temperatures are expected to reach 38 C in the Boundary region, while temperatures in the south and central Okanagan, south and north Thompson, and Fraser Canyon regions will reach up to 36 C.

The latest heat wave has broken records in parts of the province, including in Nelson, where a high of 38.2 C on Thursdaysurpassedthe record from 1938.New records were also set in Mackenzie, Nakusp, Richmond and Smithers.

WorkSafeBC says the warnings should be a wake-up call to employers as it's been dealing with increasing claims related to heat from people who work indoors, and it's reminding employers that they need to take steps to protect their workers.

The provincial worker's health and safety agencysays in an advisory that heat stress-related claims have been on the rise in the last few years, averaging 41 between 2018 and 2020 andrising to a peak of 115 related to the heat dome event in 2021.