Hot and humid summer temperatures are here, and so are the dangers of heat-related illnesses like heat stroke.
“Heat-related illnesses are those illnesses attributable to excess heat on the body causing dysregulation and dysfunction of normal organ systems, and in severe cases, leads to organ failure and death,” Dr. David Ng, an emergency physician in downtown Toronto, told CTVNews.ca. “Severe heat illness leading to organ failure and death is generally uncommon overall, but when it does, it occurs in an epidemic cluster of cases all at once.”
High temperatures killed at least 595 people in B.C. during a 2021 “heat dome,” and another 156 in 2009, according to Health Canada; in Quebec, heat led to 280 deaths in 2010.
Dr. Michael Brauer, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health, says climate change is bringing the threat of heat illness to a growing number of Canadians.
“We’ve always had extreme heat events, but they’re getting warmer and they’re also becoming more frequent,” Dr. Brauer told CTVNews.ca. “This is not going to go away.”
