Abstract: In 2021, there was an unprecedented heat wave across the Canadian province of British Columbia that led to the deaths of 619 people, almost all of whom died in their homes. This research note focuses on a report from the BC Coroners Service that explores quantitative data on who died during the heat dome and puts forward key recommendations for future events. We argue that this report focuses too heavily on the immediate causes of death and suffering and does not thoroughly address the important structural factors of inequality that underpin how people experience heat in their homes. Drawing on political ecology, we highlight housing injustice and tenancy in British Columbia as key structural components of inequality, and discuss unaffordability and individual contexts that contribute to how people experience heat events differently across scales and geographies. We also discuss debates around recent policies on air conditioning and the Material and Social Deprivation Index. We conclude that while the Coroners Service report has made valuable contributions to statistical knowledge, its conclusions and recommendations do not go far enough to address the underlying structural factors of housing insecurity.
Stern, R.N. & Arefin, M.R. (2024). Extreme heat in the home: understanding the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave through the British Columbia coroners report. Journal of Disaster Studies 1(1), 103-118. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/936412
The article is available open access via this link.