Nova Scotia summers are getting hotter. Is Halifax prepared?

Olivia Piercey · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 17, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Amid a provincewide vigor warning, a Halifax exigency country doc is speaking retired astir the severity of heat-related illnesses.

Daytime temperatures are expected to scope a maximum of 28 C to 32 C successful Nova Scotia connected Thursday, but cooler temperatures are expected on the coast.

"Take enactment to support yourself and others – utmost vigor tin impact everyone's health," the Environment Canada informing notes. "Determine if you oregon others astir you are astatine greater hazard of vigor illness."

According to studies by the Canadian Climate Institute, Canada volition spot 4 times much days with temperatures exceeding 30 C by 2050.

Dr. Matthew Clarke, an exigency country doc astatine the Halifax Infirmary, said seniors, children and immunocompromised individuals are peculiarly susceptible to heat-related illnesses. He said socioeconomic factors tin besides enactment radical astatine risk, similar being homeless.

"When it comes to warmth, we don't ever deliberation of it arsenic being a hazard origin successful the aforesaid mode [as the cold], but it surely is," said Clarke.

On Tuesday, the Halifax Regional Municipality posted proposal connected its Facebook leafage for residents trying to enactment cool. It suggested staying indoors, remaining hydrated and turning connected fans oregon aerial conditioning. For those without entree to a chill space, the metropolis recommended going to a nationalist library.

Clarke said portion it's important for individuals to portion h2o and enactment inside, helium thinks a larger, systemic attack is needed erstwhile considering the warming climate.

Two years ago, a metropolis unit study laid retired immoderate of the preliminary steps needed to hole for and respond to vigor waves.

A 2021 vigor dome successful B.C. led to much than 600 deaths. Most of the B.C. deaths happened indoors successful homes without cooling systems.

According to the Nova Scotia government, arsenic of 2021, lone 41 per cent of Halifax homes had aerial conditioning.

Staff study recommendations

The city's 2023 unit study recommended mounting up cooling stations arsenic a effect to utmost vigor events. These air-conditioned spaces could beryllium placed successful municipally owned buildings oregon buying malls.

As well, the study said the municipality should take steps to make greater consciousness of the cooling centres and cheque successful with susceptible residents during instances of utmost heat.

Some of the different recommendations were for the municipality to:

• Offer escaped transit to chill spaces.
• Provide mobile cooling centres to seniors' homes and different at-risk locations.
• Set up pop-up outdoor shading and cooling similar tents, fans oregon misting stations.
• Create a webpage that points residents to a chill abstraction adjacent them, akin to Toronto's "Cool Spaces Near You" page.

Despite the recommendations, the city said successful a connection that "many measures stay successful preliminary oregon readying stages."

Studies show that exigency departments visits and decease rates summation successful Canada pursuing a vigor wave.

Emergency country visits

When compiling data on things similar decease rates and exigency country visits, Nova Scotia Public Health said it does not way upwind conditions.

Last year, the section said determination were 43 heat-related exigency visits successful the province.

These visits see wellness issues similar vigor stroke, vigor exhaustion and dehydration. Public Health said this fig lone includes events wherever vigor was the evident cause. It does not see emergencies wherever vigor whitethorn person been a factor.

Clarke said vigor often exacerbates different wellness issues.

"People who consciousness much non-specific symptoms of feeling much weak, much tired, headache, nausea, things similar that, vigor is surely a important contributing factor, but it's a small spot much hard to pin down that it indispensable person been related," helium said.

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