Record heat forces closure of Canada Arctic park

OTTAWA (Reuters) – A major national park in Canada’s Arctic has been largely closed after record high temperatures caused flooding that washed away hiking trails and forced the evacuation of tourists, an official said on Friday.

Every year around 500 people visit Auyuittuq National Park, which covers over 19,000 square km (7,340 square miles) on Baffin Island and is dominated by the giant Penny ice cap. The park is popular with hikers and skiers.


… The problems started last month with two weeks of record temperatures on Baffin Island that reached as high as 27 Celsius (81 Fahrenheit), well above the July average of 12 C (54 F).

This, Scott said, triggered massive melting which sent “a huge pulse of water through the park,” washing away 60 km (37 miles) of a trail used by hikers and destroying a bridge over a river that is otherwise impassable.

Reuters