44 deaths in Canada as brutal heat wave sets new records

Heat warnings are in effect across southern Quebec, Ontario and the Atlantic region of Canada. Photo / AP

At least three heat-related deaths have been reported in the United States and the death toll rose to 44 in Canada as a brutal heat wave set records and gripped much of the Northern Hemisphere for days.

Officials confirmed the deaths in Quebec as the Canadian province was left sweltering in the heat wave for days.

In America three deaths in the northeast have been blamed on the heat and two more in Kansas City might also be heat-related, CBS News reported. The lengthy heat wave even helped spark a wildfire in the moorlands of northern England, where 120 firefighters have been dispatched.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Scotland was set last week. Motherwell, located on the outskirts of Glasgow, topped 33.2C on June 28, according to the UK Met Office.

The prolonged heat stressed the power grid in Azerbaijan, and on Tuesday, it gave out, causing a massive blackout.

And even in areas that haven't seen an abnormal amount of sun and heat, the weather pattern has still been a problem.

In Iceland, forecasters say it was the island's gloomiest, wettest May and June since at least 1914.