'Particularly dangerous': Heat warnings in effect for Lower Mainland

Vancouver -

B.C. health officials are warning those living on the South and Central Coast and Vancouver Island to brace for yet another heat wave.

In an afternoon news conference about the upcoming heat wave, health officials said they're asking everyone to plan ahead and assured that the health-care sector is doing the same.

"Paramedics and dispatchers are on deck to get help to people quickly who call for it," Health Minister Adrian Dix said.

• Related: Find the nearest cooling centre in your area

Dix said staff is being increased in emergency rooms to manage expected demand and more clinicians are being stationed at dispatch centres.

Environment Canada has issued heat warnings with temperatures beginning to climb Wednesday.

“Daytime highs ranging from 34 to 38 C, combined with overnight lows of 17 to 20 C. Humidex values during this period will reach the high 30s to possibly the low 40s,” wrote the department in a bulletin.

The highest temperatures are expected Thursday and Friday, but the hot weather will stick around for the weekend as well.

“These hotter than normal temperatures will increase the potential for heat-related illnesses,” wrote Environment Canada.

Health officials are reminding everyone to drink plenty of water and stay in a cool place. As well, most civic centres in the Lower Mainland will be offered as cooling centres while the heat warning is in effect.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry also urged people to be cautious indoors.

"We need to remind people that high indoor temperatures can be particularly dangerous for older adults, for those with chronic conditions and especially for susceptible people with health conditions who are living alone," she said.

The top doctor recommended taking cold showers, sleeping in the coolest room in the house and using damp towels to cool down. She warned using fans can be dehydrating, but applying a misting spray or wet towel before sitting in front of one can help.

B.C. smashed temperature records earlier this summer during an unprecedented heat dome weather event.

Roughly 570 people died as a result, the majority of them were seniors.

Henry said temperatures in the days ahead aren't expected to get as high as they did then.

"If we look back on what happened in late-June, early July, the intensity, the length of time the type of heat, the build-up of heat during the day, it was a unique event," she said.

"There's a lot we still have to learn … but for now, the important thing for these next few days are to find ways to stay cool both indoors and outdoors." 

A CHANGE IN APPROACH

As the health minister insisted it was “all hands on deck” in response to the season’s third heat wave, a senior Vancouver Coastal Health doctor provided insight into some of the changes in strategy stemming from the heat dome death toll.

"People didn't understand the severity when they issued the extreme heat health alert (in late June) and the difference between that and a warning, as well as its significance,” said Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, deputy chief medical health officer for the health authority.

“They didn't understand that in the public and even within the health-care system.”

When health officials declared a “Level 2: Extreme Heat Alert” in late June, the Friday afternoon announcement failed to mention that it was an unprecedented alert level and constituted a warning that dozens of people could die each day from hyperthermia. Few had any idea of the alert level’s significance. 

“(As a result), we've also tried to include in our communication the concept that people in the Lower Mainland are not acclimatized to heat and they have not adapted their environment (with air conditioning) and that is why they're vulnerable, even though these temperatures may not seem as hot as they are,” explained Lysyshyn.

In this heat wave, the overnight temperatures aren’t expected to be as high as they were in June. Lysyshyn agreed that the weeks of warm weather have allowed everyone’s bodies to better withstand higher temperatures, but he was still concerned about watching for signs of heat stroke and reaching out to the elderly and those with health conditions.

While they haven’t escalated to a Level 2 warning at this point, as not all of the criteria for doing so have been reached, health officials across the region are working with local governments to open more cooling centres, provide free taxi vouchers for high-risk people who can’t use transit to get there, and provide fans for some individuals and air conditioning for some facilities. A more robust ambulance plan is included in the preparations. 

And, while health authorities are taking extra measures to monitor people already accessing assisted-living and home health supports, they simply don’t have enough staff to check in on everyone who needs it — especially people living on their own. 

“It is a real challenge because people we have to reach, the most vulnerable, are least likely to hear messages and understand the heat is impacting them negatively,” said Lysyshyn. “They’re often older, on certain medications and may not feel they're getting hot … They can quickly get confused, dehydrated and dizzy and fall unconscious and at that point it's too late.”