This summer, a number of cities around the world have recorded their hottest temperatures in history. This is not just a climate change issue, it is about social justice, as staggering numbers of people have died as a result. Laurence Miall sheds light on the situation in Montreal and Quebec and has some suggestions for transition pathways to more equitable urban futures for us all.

Jayne Engle, Cities for People

Photo credit: Rohan Quinby

The 2016 wildfires in Fort McMurray killed two people. The 1987 tornado in Edmonton killed 27. Flooding in southern Alberta in 2013 killed five. Those natural disasters were benign compared to what just happened in Quebec, where 90 people died during one of the hottest weeks in recorded history. Unlike other natural disasters, heat waves advance slowly, and arguably their worst consequences are preventable. Where I live in Montreal, for days we were warned that extreme temperatures were coming. The Montreal Gazette even ran a story called “We ran out of ways to tell you it’s going to be really hot.”

But were we prepared? Like hell we were. Many of our hospitals have patient rooms that aren’t even air conditioned. Some residences for seniors don’t offer in-bedroom air conditioning as part of their standard costs, and common areas like hallways can be sweltering. The poorest members of our city — many of them living on the stifling third, fourth or higher floors of apartments — all too often lack proper air conditioning, making them especially vulnerable to heat.

It’s strange we’re not more concerned about what just happened because heat waves are lethal on a massive scale, more than most other kinds of natural disaster. Recent statistics from the United States are alarming. And heatwaves are forecast to become more and more common and severe under climate change.

Deaths by heat are particularly horrible.

Here’s what happens when you overheat and die. You get muscle cramps because you’ve sweated out too much water and are short of vital electrolytes. If you stop sweating altogether, that signals very serious problems. Ongoing exposure to the heat will very likely make you dizzy and confused, and eventually you will become fatigued, possibly lose consciousness or start vomiting uncontrollably.

Closing in on an internal body temperature of 40 degrees or higher, your internal organs start to shut down their vital functions. You may experience seizures. If your situation has reached some of these critical stages, even if you receive medical help, you may not survive. That’s because you advance through these stages at an accelerated rate, and there is literally no medication in the world that can save you.

Have you imagined your death, or that of a loved one, being like this?

Maybe you’re one of the lucky ones, like me. I live with my partner and our infant daughter on the second floor of a triplex. We don’t have in-built air conditioning, but I bought a $400 AC unit for our bedroom last September. We used that AC every single day and night of the recent heat wave. Some days, we didn’t leave the sanctuary of the bedroom for hours. The second AC unit I’d installed in the living room in April was feeble and ineffective, and made next to no difference to the indoor temperature. That unit will be replaced just as soon as AC units are back in stock in the stores!

The people who died in Quebec weren’t as fortunate. They were old, and many of them lived alone.

What’s remarkable is that it has become commonplace for us to ignore these kinds of people — particularly in big cities. Some of my fellow Montrealers were discovered dead in their homes after their bodies began to decompose.

Does this sound gruesome and offensive?

That’s because it is. And it’s getting worse.

“Toronto currently averages 12 days per year that reach or exceed 30 C. By 2051–2080, under the high-carbon modelling, that number is projected to rise to 55.” Montreal’s numbers are almost identical.

This is about climate justice.

The potential for the climate change issue to be recast as a social justice issue is huge, and indeed, is already happening in many places. The argument is simple. Those with money and power will find ways to protect themselves from climate catastrophe, and others will not.

Equality = survival.

When 80% of Canadians live in cities — in perpetual proximity to neighbours in potential peril — we’ve got to do a better job of looking after one another. Politically, we need to demand that every resident who needs air conditioning, gets it. We also need to demand that those air conditioners be powered by an electrical grid that is increasingly shifting toward renewable energy, including wind and solar. We need to intensify pressure on all governments that they tackle the even bigger problem of global climate change. We risk falling well short of our 2015 Paris Climate Agreements. Unless we want a society that continues to let its poorest, loneliest members die in ever increasing numbers, we’ve got to deliver solutions as soon as possible. The next heat wave could be next year, or next month, or next week.

About the author:

Laurence Miall is the Director of Public Affairs and Audience Engagement at the McConnell Foundation, and author at NeWestPress.