Extreme heat

This literature review, initiated at the request of the Table de concertation nationale en santé environnementale (TCNSE), aims to identify groups at risk during heat events and the adaptation measures proposed by other government agencies and in the scientific literature.

Global warming could have particularly severe impacts on Canada. It is estimated that temperatures in Canada increased at roughly twice the global mean rate over the 1948–2016 period, with a mean annual increase of 1.7°C compared to a global increase of 0.8°C. Periods of extreme heat have become more frequent and more intense in most provinces. Without appropriate preventive actions, these changes could lead to an increase in mortality and morbidity rates, affecting, among others, urban…

Since the 2010 summer season, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) has been producing an annual report on the impact of extreme heat waves on the health of the population, using the Fichier hebdomadaire des décès of the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ). The main purpose of this study is to verify the validity of this data source. The study also aims to measure the impact of age, material deprivation, and the presence of urban heat islands on the…

Weather warning systems are among the main policy tools used by public authorities to protect the population from vagaries in the weather. More particularly, weather warning systems are implemented so that the government can monitor weather conditions and issue warnings when extreme weather events, such as heat waves, cold waves, heavy rainfall, etc., threaten the population. As is the case in all public interventions, it is important to analyze the performance of these systems, in order to…