Monday, March 18, 2024

16 people died during BC’s July heat wave, including one on Vancouver Island

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According to a report by the BC Coroners’ service, 16 people lost their lives during the province’s heat wave at the end of July. 

The special heat warning was issued by Environment Canada and affected much of BC, including Greater Victoria, east Vancouver Island and inland Vancouver Island, beating a previous heat record set in 2019.

During the warning, daytime high temperatures were 33° to 37° inland, 21° to 25° by the water and around 15° to 16° in the early morning hours.

The number of heat-related deaths were reported between July 26th and August 3rd. 

Five deaths were recorded on July 29th, the highest number of deaths in one day, during the time period. 

Residents aged 70 to 79 years old had the highest heat-related deaths by age group. 

Fraser Health reported 8 deaths. There were 6 deaths in Interior Health, 1 death in Vancouver Coastal Health and 1 in Island Health. 

To help the public get through the heat, municipalities set up cooling stations to help residents keep comfortable. 

You can see the full report here.

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