Global Courant 2023-05-12 02:08:38
The BC Center for Disease Control (BCCDC) said the county is in a better place to deal with extreme heat compared to the summer of 2021, when hundreds of people died during the heat dome weather.
Officials from the BCCDC, Environment Canada and BC’s Emergency Management and Climate Readiness held a technical briefing Thursday morning to review a dual heat warning system for extreme heat events.
It was posted last summer in response to the 2021 heat dome that killed 619 British Columbians. It is considered the deadliest weather on record in Canada, according to the BC Coroners Service.
BC’s Heat Alert Response System (HARS) uses specific heat criteria to determine what type of alert should be issued to British Columbians so they can prepare for hot weather. The criteria take into account peaks and troughs during the day and night and are specific to each region of the province.
Sarah Henderson, the scientific director of environmental health services at the BCCDC, who led the briefing, said the measure, along with others now in effect, are positive lessons learned from the deadly heat dome.
“We’re in a much better place than we were in the summer of 2021,” she said.
Willingness, readiness
Henderson and Armel Castellan, an alert preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, both want governments and citizens to pay full attention to this weekend’s expected record-breaking heat wave as an opportunity to understand the heat alert system and learn to prepare for heat just as they do for other possible emergencies such as floods, wildfires and earthquakes.
Castellan said temperatures will be high this weekend, but not as dire as the 2021 heat dome, as nights are still longer, allowing for longer cooling spells with less humidity.
“It doesn’t have the potential to reach the same extremes we saw in June 2021 when we saw 25 degrees above seasonal temperatures,” he said.
Henderson said it will still be hot enough to cause heat stroke and other overheating problems that can become medical emergencies for vulnerable people, especially if indoor temperatures remain high in the evenings and overnight.
“If you find yourself too hot, (take) immediate action to cool down.”
Guide to extreme heat preparedness
In addition to the draft warning system that BC has developed, it now also has through the BCCDCa guide to extreme heat preparedness.
The 16-page booklet explains it the dangers of heat, how and why it is expected, as well as tips to protect against it, such as finding places to stay cool and other home solutions.
The guide also discusses who are most at risk during a heat event, such as the elderly, those with mental illness or limited mobility.
An air conditioner is pictured in the window of an apartment on Blackwood and Agnes streets in New Westminster, BC, on June 14, 2022. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Henderson would like people to read the guide and consider one of the important emergency preparedness actions: identifying people in your community to check in during a heat event.
“If you live alone, find an extreme heat buddy to check in with you when things get hot, and who you can also contact for help,” the guide reads.
Where are the air conditioners?
There is some criticism of the province about the attention paid to the new heat warning system. A coroner’s report last summer called on the county to step up support for vulnerable residents, who often find themselves unable to escape the heat in their homes.
The province has yet to release a review from that report about providing air conditioners as medical devices through existing programs in the province.
Henderson said she is optimistic that all levels of government are working hard to take steps to prevent future heat-related deaths.
“We’re pushing… to move to an even better place,” she said.
