As unprecedented heat blanketed British Columbia and other parts of the Pacific Northwest, people scrambled to stores — arriving at empty shelves where air conditioners and fans used to be.

Our homes, especially rental apartments and condos, aren’t livable in the soaring temperatures. Sudden deaths almost tripled across B.C. during the heat dome and are suspected to be from extreme heat, according to a statement from the province’s chief coroner. The service typically receives 165 death reports over four days — that number jumped to 486 between June 25 and June 28, with more expected to be added as new data becomes available.

Dr. Melissa Lem, a family physician in Vancouver and president-elect of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), called the number a “wake-up call.” She explains that it’s not just people going outside and getting too much sun — it’s the inescapability of the heat. With temperatures in the 40s in many parts of the province, some homes become unsafe places to be.

Lem says there’s no question that more heat waves are in the future, so changes need to be made to adapt and prepare. That means more emergency staff, education for individuals, and changes to infrastructure. She points to the City of Vancouver’s move to ban gas appliances (other than barbecues, fireplaces and ranges) by January 2022 as a good start. She says electric heat pumps, which move heat outside to inside in the winter and heat inside to outside in the summer, replacing carbon-emitting furnaces and boilers that burn natural gas, are a good alternative.

Tom-Pierre Frappé-Sénéclauze, director of buildings and urban solutions at the Pembina Institute, says changes like heat pumps in our homes are an essential public health move.

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