Summer now means fear for some, as study shows poverty brought biggest risk of death in B.C. heat dome

When a blanket of oppressive heat smothered B.C. in late June of 2021, Q Lawrence and their roommate began sleeping in the coolest place they could find — the kitchen floor.

Temperatures in their Fraser Valley community of Chilliwack soared to record highs, reaching above 40 C for days in a row.

"I honestly felt quite trapped," Lawrence recalled. "The house would just build in temperature throughout the day, and then at night there wouldn't even be a subtle drop. It would just stay the same temperature, and then the next day it would start to build again."

The 26-year-old gets by on less than $1,400 a month in disability assistance from the B.C. government, with small additions from conducting disability justice workshops, so buying an air conditioner was out of reach. Wildfire smoke made it risky to open the windows or stay outside for long.

The consequences were deadly for hundreds of British Columbians. An estimated 619 people died from the heat during the 2021 heat dome — Lawrence knew three of them.

That's why they say it comes as no surprise to learn poverty created the biggest risk of death during the heat dome, placing people in greater danger than any chronic health condition or disability, according to unpublished research from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC).

"I think it's unsurprising to most poor people. We're aware of how much community death we're surrounded by," Lawrence said.

"It's angering, because this is something that can be changed. It's something that is an external factor that actually, with enough political will, is changeable."

The findings are prompting calls from advocates, scientists and doctors for governments to do more to keep people safe from the extreme heat events that are becoming more common because of human-caused climate change. That includes going beyond a recent government pledge for air conditioners to create permanent systems providing units to people who can't afford them, improving building standards and setting maximum allowable temperatures for indoor spaces.

Sarah Henderson, the BCCDC's scientific director of environmental health services, said it's imperative to act now.

"I'm scared of summer," she told CBC News. "They describe this as a one-in-1,000-year event. I don't buy that. I will not be surprised if we see another temperature anomaly like this within the next decade and I fear for the people in the province who are so at risk."

The new research from the BCCDC shows that people who died during the heat dome were more than twice as likely to receive government income assistance than a comparable sample of people who survived.

"That was the biggest risk factor for mortality during the heat dome, followed very closely by evidence of having schizophrenia," Henderson said.

The vast majority of these deaths happened inside, in private residences, she added. The BCCDC has tracked data from smart thermometers showing that in homes without air conditioning, temperatures remained dangerously high at night for days on end during the heat dome, unlike outside, where there was some relief.