Temperature records fell in parts of British Columbia's South Coast Wednesday amid unseasonably warm weather in the region.
By noon, Langley and Abbotsford had already seen new records of 29 C, topping the 1999 record by half a degree.
And things kept warming up in Abbotsford to a balmy 31 C. Chilliwack saw the same daily high, while the mercury reached 25 C in Langley and Pitt Meadows.
A high of 31 C was also in the forecast for Squamish.
"We're already at the spectrum where the UV index is very high – eight on 10," said Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald. "Stay out of the sun if you can in the hours between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m."
Most areas closer to the coast were expecting to see the mercury reach the mid-20s.
Environment Canada says this spring has been extremely dry, especially in the province's Interior.
And with no rain in the forecast anytime soon, the B.C. River Forecast Centre is sounding the alarm about possible drought across the province in the coming weeks.
Those dry conditions do not bode well for this year's wildfire season, with crews already taking precautions in parts of B.C. after a lack of spring rain caused the fire risk to soar.
"We have forecasted that we may see a drier than usual June," said fire information officer Kyla Fraser. "If the fuels are drier, then there could potentially be a greater area burned if we were to experience a fire just due to the availability of dry fuels."
Environment Canada said there is a good chance for thunderstorms to roll over the Interior Wednesday, which is actually cause for concern for the BC Wildfire Service as lighting could spark forest fires.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Emad Agahi in Abbotsford and The Canadian Press
