Despite the cooler weather, heat wave death toll hits 54
Despite the much-needed cooler weather, public health officials were still on high alert Friday as the weeklong heat wave that contributed to the deaths of 54 Quebecers comes to an end. The new death toll, up from 33 the day before, was confirmed by a press attaché for Lucie Charlebois, the provincial minister for public health.
A spokesperson for Santé Montréal confirmed that, as of Friday afternoon, 28 deaths in the city may have been related to the extreme heat. The others occurred in the Eastern Townships (9), Mauricie (7), Montérégie (6), Quebec City/Chaudière-Appalaches (1), Lanaudière (1), Laurentians (1) and Laval (1).
Dr. David Kaiser, a specialist with the public health department, explained that physicians and first responders who declare deaths look for one of two things when determining whether they’re potentially heat-related.
The first indicator would be someone presenting symptoms of heat stroke before death or an elevated body temperature. Deaths of those types, however, are less common, he said, counting for only one or two of the 28 deaths over the last week.
The majority of deaths, Kaiser said, have been cases of someone dying of an underlying conditions, such as diabetes, within a hot environment at home. None of the 28 deaths have occurred in hospitals or long-term care facilities, he specified. Kaiser continued that the individuals who have died due to heat are identified in a variety of ways. Some deaths are discovered more quickly, after an individual does not come down from their room in a residence for breakfast, whereas others take longer, such as cases in which a person is socially isolated, he said.
Environment Canada lifted the week-old heat warning and dayold storm watch for the Montreal area early Friday.
The temperature was expected to drop to 13 C overnight Friday.
The last time Montreal saw a seven-day heat wave with temperatures above 30 C was in 1973, according to meteorologist Alexandre Parent. He said extreme weather like this has a tendency to occur every 20 years. However, the weather station at McGill University ’s downtown campus has never picked up more than five consecutive days of weather over 33 C in its 147 years of operation.
The cumulative effect of the prolonged heat, during which humidex levels reached up to 40 C, may still impact residents, explained Stefan Overhoff, a spokesperson for Urgences-Santé. Throughout the last week, the number of calls to emergency services jumped by about 30 per cent, Overhoff said.
The city ’s heat intervention plan will remain in place until the city indicates otherwise, according to Marilyne Laroche, a spokesperson for the city of Montreal.
Presse Canadienne contributed to this report.