Among the extreme weather events we are now experiencing, including floods, severe storms and wildfires, heat waves are having the greatest impact on human health.
Indeed, the deadliest weather event in Canadian history was the heat dome (abnormally hot temperatures that lasted several days) that hit British Columbia in 2021, causing at least 600 deaths. In addition to increased mortality, extreme heat is responsible for more emergency room visits, ambulance transports, hospitalizations, calls to health information lines, work-related accidents and greater mobilization of emergency response teams.
