June heat wave may have led to 14 deaths in Montreal: public health

A man sits under a tree in the Montreal borough of Lachine on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

The heat wave that suffocated Montrealers in late June may have led to the death of at least 14 people, according to Montreal's public health department. 

The episode, which lasted from June 18 to 21, saw temperatures swell to 33 degrees Celsius for three days, with lows above 25 at night, above the standard to measure heat waves. 

Public health toxicologist Tutor Matei told CTV News that heat-related deaths are generally hard to measure because most victims tend to have other underlying medical problems.

"We have to have an epidemiological investigation done in order to, first of all, either confirm or refute the fact that these deaths were heat-related. And on top of that, to look at hospital records, among other things, to see if there are other deaths that might not have been reported to us," he said.

Matei said that while there were other episodes of extreme heat during the summer, none met the standards established to qualify them as heatwaves. 

This summer's morbidity rate is not the worst Montreal has seen, he added.

"You know, for example, in 2018, we had an epidemiological investigation where 66 people died in related to the heat in a five-day span," he said.

In the meantime, rising temperatures, the result of climate change, are also raising alarms in the education system.  

It's time to consider heat days in the spring and early fall, when the temperature is too high and puts children and teachers in danger, Eric Gingras, president of education union the Central des Syndicats du Quebec, told Le Journal de Montreal.

The English Montreal School Board didn't have a position on the issue and suggested unions would have to negotiate it in future contracts. 

But according to Katherine Korakakis, president of the English Parents Committee Association of Quebec, such measures could be disruptive as these heat days may happen during exam time or when children start school. 

"We have to find other solutions. I don't necessarily think that having heat days is the solution. I think we have to look at other, more sustainable ways because it's going to get hotter and harder, as we know. So we have to find other ways to combat the heat," she said, suggesting investments in renovating schools and adding air conditioning where needed.