Seasonal change in the north is rapid and, for local people, summer marks a brief reprieve from months of bitter cold. But a heatwave that is currently hovering over the community 130 miles (209km) north of the Arctic Circle threatens to shatter its all-time heat record.
On Wednesday, just past the northernmost traffic lights in North America, a digital thermometer slowly climbed, eventually reaching 35˚C (95˚F) – and passing an all-time record of 33˚C set last year. Families left the NorthMart grocery store clutching boxes of popsicles and ice cream. A weather alert from Environment Canada classified the heat as “severe”, warning of “significant threat to life or property”.
Unlike more southern cities, where the hottest temperatures peak late afternoon, a midnight sunset in Inuvik means the heat persists well into the evening, offering little relief. The town is surrounded by forest, but the spruce and fir are dwarf-like compared with other regions, and offer little shade. Nor was the community, which sits on more than 1,000ft (305 metres) of permafrost, built with heatwaves in mind.