Scientists have issued a stark warning after a "heat dome" has caused temperatures to skyrocket to record highs in Canada and the US.
The heatwave has seen cities on America's Pacific north-west - an area known for its moderate climate - recording record-high temperatures, with the mercury rising higher than 40C in Portland and Seattle.
Late last month, Canada also set a new record for its highest temperature after a village in British Columbia reached 46.1C. That temperature, in Lytton, surpassed the previous national high of 45C, set in Saskatchewan in 1937, according to The Guardian.
After beating that record, Lytton then went on to record even higher temperatures for three consecutive days, reaching 49.6C on Tuesday, according to the BBC.
The soaring temperatures have prompted scientists to urge governments to take urgent action in the face of climate change, saying the temperatures are evidence of extreme heat events striking all over the globe.
"Nowhere is safe … who would have predicted a temperature of 48/49C in British Columbia?" said Sir David King, the former UK chief scientific advisor.
"The risks have been understood and known for so long and we have not acted, now we have a very narrow timeline for us to manage the problem."
Another scientist, Michael E Mann, a professor of atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State University, said the extreme weather is just the beginning.
"We should take this very seriously… you warm up the planet, you’re going to see an increased incidence of heat extremes," he told The Guardian.
"Climate models are actually underestimating the impact that climate change is having on events like the unprecedented heat wave we are witnessing out west right now."
The heat wave has caused at least 486 sudden deaths in British Columbia, with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressing his condolences for those who had lost loved ones due to the extreme weather.
