The city’s current response contrasts with actions being taken in British Columbia, which is also enduring a heat wave
With temperatures expected to reach 35 C, Calgary is not taking measures to keep citizens from overheating during this week’s heat wave.
The summer’s first prolonged stretch of hot weather comes in the middle of the Calgary Stampede, which has welcomed thousands of out-of-town visitors to the city.
The city said Monday in a statement to Postmedia that it “is not opening any indoor facilities specifically due to the heat,” a contrast to the approach taken by locales in B.C. experiencing similar or worse heat this week.
Environment and Climate Change Canada says there will be little relief from the heat until at least mid-week, with overnight lows hitting the mid-teens. Those high temperatures pose a higher risk of heat illnesses such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion, it said.
The city did not directly respond to questions about its extreme heat protocols and circumstances that trigger those protocols. It also did not answer whether it undertook any additional heat mitigation measures after the 2021 heat wave that killed more than 60 Calgarians.
The city said it works closely with social service partners during heat waves, and that its bylaw officers and HELP team work to make sure people experiencing homelessness get adequate help.
The city’s current response contrasts with actions being taken in British Columbia, which is also enduring a heat wave. More than 20 heat records were broken Monday in B.C. as temperatures pushed above 40 C in some areas, including Kamloops and Nanaimo.
The City of Kamloops, meanwhile, has said it’s not opening cooling centres “due to a lack of facility availability,” while the City of Nanaimo has set up a misting station.
66 Calgarians died during 2021 heat wave; B.C. ramping up rollout of free air conditioners
The heat wave comes barely three years after deadly summer temperatures killed hundreds across British Columbia and Alberta in the summer of 2021 — a weather event that triggered several reviews analyzing how regions can manage heat crises in the future.
The heat wave’s toll was particularly devastating in B.C., killing 619 people — 98 per cent of which occurred indoors. More than two-thirds of those deaths were people over age 70.
Lindsey Warkentin, a research associate at the Institute of Health Economics (IHE) who co-authored a review of adaptation strategies for reducing extreme heat health effects in the wake of Alberta’s 2021 heat wave, said there are limited strategies backed by evidence known to mitigate heat’s effect on people’s health.
The few effective measures identified in the report include governments creating heat-health action and response plans; mass notifications and education campaigns; cooling centres or shelters; and welfare check-ins. In Quebec, the Red Cross has a telephone program that calls people to check on their well-being during extreme heat.
Overall, there remains a dearth of research linking positive outcomes to certain interventions, said Todd Anderson, dean of the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine — though many unstudied solutions such as air conditioners require only common sense to understand their benefits.
“In an extreme heat situation, having air conditioning in a room set to 20 degrees versus somebody living in a room at 40 degrees . . . you don’t need a trial for that,” said Anderson, also a board member of the IHE.
Drop-In Centre donor matching all donations one-for-one
Meanwhile, several of Calgary’s social agencies are stepping up amid the heat wave this week.
The Drop-In Centre and Mustard Seed, two of Calgary’s prominent downtown shelters, are providing water, hats and sunscreen to clients and are accepting donations of such items.
Cindy Ngo, manager of fund development for the Drop-In Centre, said the DI currently has a donor matching all donations up to $25,000. The DI isn’t turning anyone away during the heat wave, she said, and it’s in the early stages of a campaign requesting Calgarians donate water, clothing, meals and other items to help manage the heat.
Dave Conrad, senior director of community and volunteer engagement at Mustard Seed, said activity in the shelter has been “steady” in recent days.
“It’s interesting that when we think of extreme weather, often it’s extreme cold — but the extreme heat causes just as much danger for our vulnerable neighbours,” he said.
In a statement to Postmedia, the Kerby Centre — a support centre for Calgary seniors — did not outline any specific actions it’s taking in response to the heat wave but recommended Calgarians check on the seniors in their life.
“(W)e know they can be disproportionately affected by heat events . . . It doesn’t take much to check on a neighbour, a friend or family members — but it could make the difference between life and death for an older adult,” wrote Larry Mathieson, Kerby Centre CEO and president.
— With files from Postmedia, Gordon Hoekstra