B.C. coroner says 11 people died of heat injuries in 2023, urges residents to prepare

People are silhouetted at English Bay Beach at sunset, in Vancouver, B.C., on Monday, June 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Eleven people died from suspected heat-related injuries in British Columbia last year, according to the latest data from the provincial coroners service, which is urging residents to prepare for more unusually high temperatures this summer.

The updated heat-death statistics released Wednesday show all of the 2023 fatalities occurred between the months of May and August, with more than 80 per cent recorded in July and August.

Among the dead were eight men and three women. All but one victim were aged 50 or older, while one was under 30 years old, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.

Five heat-related deaths last year happened in the Interior region, four were recorded on Vancouver Island and two were identified in the Fraser region.

The coroner defines a heat-related fatality as one in which the victim's body temperature, or the area around the body, is high enough to indicate hyperthermia, or there is medical evidence or other evidence at the scene suggesting heat played a role in the death.

The coroner says the 2023 data on heat-related deaths is still preliminary as its investigations continue.

"These data were compiled by date of death, which may differ from the date of injury," the agency noted in a statement Wednesday. "In some cases, the death may occur months or years after injury."

In 2022, 16 people – mostly over the age of 60 – died from heat injuries in B.C., with all the deaths recorded in July and August.

During the summer heat dome of 2021, which set record-high temperatures in Western Canada, a staggering 619 people in B.C. died from heat-related causes in the months of June and July, according to the coroner.

A subsequent death review panel found most of those who died during the heat dome were elderly, had a disability, lived in lower-income neighbourhoods or lived alone.

As the province prepares for more extreme heat, the coroners service is advising residents to check on friends and family members, especially those who live alone, during high temperatures; stay hydrated; and visit air-conditioned public spaces, such as community centres, libraries and shopping malls if air conditioning is not available at home.

Last year, the B.C. government put up $10 million through the provincial hydro utility to provide up to 8,000 free air-conditioning units to vulnerable and low-income residents, following on one of the key recommendations of the death review panel.

B.C. residents who qualify for the no-cost portable air conditioners can apply through the BC Hydro website.