Blazing temperatures raise concerns about effects of climate change as police say heat likely contributed to ‘sudden’ deaths.
Police in western Canada say record temperatures may be linked to several “sudden” deaths, as extreme heat prompted the province of British Columbia to close schools, issue flood warnings from glacier melts and urge people to stay indoors.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Burnaby, just east of Vancouver, said it had responded “to more than 25 sudden death calls” in a 24-hour period since Monday.
While the deaths are still under investigation, the police force said heat was believed to have been “a contributing factor” in the majority of them. Many of the deceased were seniors, it said.
“Check on your neighbours, check on family members, check on seniors you may know,” Burnaby RCMP spokesman Mike Kalanj said.
“We are seeing this weather can be deadly for vulnerable members of our community, especially the elderly and those with underlying health issues. It is imperative we check on one another during this extreme heat.”
Social media posts with tips on staying cool without air conditioners went viral on Monday in a province where less than 40 percent of homes have air conditioning.
Lytton, a town in central British Columbia roughly 200km (124 miles) north of Vancouver, reported a temperature of 46.6°C (115.88°F) on Sunday. Prior to the weekend, the historical high in Canada was 45°C, set in Saskatchewan in 1937, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The high sustained heat is unusual to the Pacific Northwest, which is more accustomed to long bouts of rain than sun, and is caused by a high-pressure system that is not moving, said Greg Flato, a senior research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada based in Victoria.
“Temperatures get very hot during the day, they don’t cool off that much of the night and they stay relatively stationary, as opposed to the usual kind of weather events here on the West Coast … that come in across the Pacific [Ocean] and sweep across us,” Flato said.
“It drives home the point that climate is changing. Science has been telling us for a long time but to be actually immersed in it, as we are here and having to sleep down in the basement to stay cool – it really drives that home.”
Other Canadians also raised concerns about the effects of global warming on the country.
“Climate change is a public health emergency and we need to treat it like one,” BC Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau said on Twitter. “BC is now facing a reality of extreme weather events or forest fires every single summer.”
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