B.C. municipalities prepare for another week of high temperatures a month after deadly heat dome

Changes to heat-wave response focus on more cooling centres open for more hours, if necessary. Some B.C. municipalities are changing their heat-wave management plans, including potentially keeping cooling centres open overnight, as unseasonably high temperatures hit Metro Vancouver once again this week. Environment Canada has issued heat warnings for Metro Vancouver, Howe Sound, Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley and eastern Vancouver Island. It also issued a special weather statement for a large swath of the province beyond that. Temperatures are expected to peak at around 30 C Wednesday to Saturday on the South Coast.
It comes a month after an unprecedented heat dome hit B.C. and a subsequent spike in sudden deaths in the province, with the record-breaking heat, cited as a “significant contributing factor” for as many as 815 deaths. Municipalities in the region including Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby are updating their plans for future extreme heat events after some criticism that responses last month had significant gaps.
“I don’t think there was a complete plan in place prior to that heat dome that we had. … The city did the best they could under short notice,” said Carol-Ann Flanagan of the Society to End Homelessness in Burnaby.
Vancouver city council approves motion to plan for future heat waves after criticism
To prepare for future heatwaves, classify air conditioners as medical devices, UBC expert says Flanagan was part of a committee that had been working on an extreme weather heat plan since March and presented it to Burnaby’s council on Monday.
Her presentation emphasized the importance of pop-up cooling centres during heat waves and she’s hopeful that plans will be in place “very soon” to allow for more.
“Had there not been any kind of cooling space, I know that there would have been more death for our homeless population [during the heat wave],” she said.
Cooling centres may run overnight
Vancouver and the three North Shore municipalities are considering keeping cooling centres open overnight to deal with a potential emergency……..Source: cbc-ca