Report into summer heat deaths released

The B.C. Coroner’s Service says 595 British Columbians died as a result of the record-breaking heat this past summer.

The service said 32 of the deaths were in the Okanagan, and 526 occurred during the heat dome weather event between June 25 and July 1 when temperatures hit the mid to high 40s in some communities including Vernon and Kelowna.

Click here for the report.

Nearly three-quarters of those deaths were in the Fraser or Vancouver Coastal health regions, and people aged 70 or older accounted for 69 per cent of deaths.

No heat-related deaths among children were reported.

The Coroners Service expects to have completed individual investigations of each of the 595 heat-related deaths by early 2022. At that time, the service will convene a death review panel consisting of subject-matter experts who will create recommendations intended to prevent similar deaths. The findings of the panel are expected to be publicly released in late spring 2022.

“While we expect the findings of the death review will significantly contribute to efforts to increase public safety, we must take steps to prepare for future extreme weather events now,” Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner, said. “The effects of climate change are both real and unpredictable. Having a plan to regularly check in with loved ones who live alone, being aware of cooler and air-conditioned areas in your neighbourhood, and heeding early warnings about extreme weather are simple steps that will help ensure we are all properly prepared and safe.”

Additional key preliminary findings regarding the deaths recorded between June 25 and July 1 are below. Data is subject to change as individual investigations are concluded:

• The highest numbers of deaths were recorded on June 28 (131 deaths) and June 29 (231 deaths).
• The percentage of female (51 per cent) and male (49 per cent) heat-related deaths were similar.
• The highest rates of death by Health Service Delivery Area were in Fraser North (17.4 per 100,000), Fraser East (15.1 per 100,000) and Vancouver (13.7 per 100,000).
• The three townships experiencing the highest number of deaths were Vancouver (99), Surrey (67) and Burnaby (63).
• Ninety-six per cent of heat-related injuries occurred in a residential setting.

The BC Coroners Service considers a death heat-related when:

• the localized environment or the body temperature of a decedent is consistent with hyperthermia; or
• there is no direct temperature at the time of death, but there is evidence to support that heat had a significant causal effect on the death.