Climate change

Urban Heat Island Mitigation Strategies: 2021 Update

  • This literature review covers measures to mitigate urban heat islands that decision-makers and public and private property managers, municipal stakeholders, non-profit organizations, and other project designers can implement in Québec to ensure healthy, comfortable living environments.
  • Urban spread, the loss of crown cover, soil sealing, the use of heat-retaining materials, heat and greenhouse gas emissions stemming from human activities, and urban morphology with dense neighbourhoods and narrow streets are causal factors in urban heat islands. Rising temperatures and more frequent heat waves against a backdrop of climate change are likely to exacerbate their impact.
  • Urban heat islands can have detrimental environmental impacts such as the deterioration of air quality and adversely affect human health and well-being. Certain factors for increased vulnerability to heat such as age and chronic diseases warrant paying particular attention to certain populatio…

Heat adaptation measures

This literature review, initiated at the request of the Table de concertation nationale en santé environnementale (TCNSE), aims to identify groups at risk during heat events and the adaptation measures proposed by other government agencies and in the scientific literature in order to:

  • Recommend, if necessary, the adjustment of risk groups already targeted by the MSSS or the addition of new groups.
  • Recommend, if necessary, the adjustment of adaptation measures currently recommended by the MSSS or the addition of new measures.
  • Recommend, if necessary, the adjustment of heat adaptation measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Highlights

  • Average temperatures as well as the intensity and frequency of heat waves will continue to increase due to climate change. This puts public health at risk.
  • The purpose of this literature review is to update the information contained in the 2006 Ministère de la Santé…

Climate change and heat vulnerabilities of Canadian workers: Focus on the Central and Western provinces of Canada

This study on the relationship between summer temperatures and worker health in five Canadian provinces has produced new knowledge that can guide decision-makers and prevention stakeholders. Drawing on workers’ compensation claims data from Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, as well as meteorological data, the study revealed that:

  • For every 1°C increase in the daily maximum summer temperature for the 2001-2016 period, there was a 28% to 51% increase in the daily number of accepted heat illness claims (e.g. edema, syncope, exhaustion, sunstroke/heatstroke), depending on the province and the heat exposure indicator used; applied to the province of Quebec, a 34% increase (model based on Tmax) represents seven additional accepted heat illness claims over the five summer months of each year of the 2001-2016 period.
  • No sex- or age-based disparities were observed in relation to the heat illness risk examined. In Queb…

Tools and Methods for Integrating Health into Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Policies and Strategies

This paper presents the results of a scoping review of the literature on existing tools and methods for integrating health concerns into climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and strategies. It is intended for public health actors who may be involved in the development of such policies and strategies. It may also be of interest to other actors who would like to further integrate the health dimension into their actions aimed at combating climate change.

The review of the scientific and grey literature identified thirteen tools and methods, which were classified into five categories:

  1. Impact assessment tools;
  2. Tools for integrating health into adaptation policies and strategies;
  3. Models;
  4. Conceptual frameworks;

Negative Psychosocial Effects of Heat Waves, Flooding, Forest Fires, and Storms on Québec Workers

In the implementation of Québec’s 2013-2020 Climate Change Action Plan, the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux mandated the Institut national de santé publique du Québec with conducting an exploratory study on the psychosocial effects experienced by workers as the result of four extreme weather events, the frequency of which will be exacerbated by climate change: heat waves, flooding, storms, and forest fires.

It aims to briefly examine the literature and knowledge of various key actors in order to propose more significant next steps for research projects that respond to Québec’s workplace and public health needs and issues.

This study has shown:

  • The extreme weather events studied can have psychosocial effects on workers, but the knowledge of these effects varies greatly by event.
  • The psychosocial effects on workers have been the most thoroughly documented in the scientific literature for storms, less well documented for floods and…

Portrait of zoonoses prioritized by Quebec’s observatory on zoonoses and climate change adaptation in 2015

  • In Québec, like elsewhere in the world, diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans (zoonoses), which account for about 60% of diseases communicable to humans, are currently emerging. The complex dynamics of zoonoses can be affected by climate change. In response to this complexity, the Observatoire initiated a zoonosis prioritization approach in 2015 in the context of climate change. This approach allowed it to develop a portrait of zoonoses that will serve as the basis for documenting their evolving situations in Québec, in an effort to anticipate potential issues of concern. Documenting the zoonoses also allowed it to better identify the challenges and knowledge gaps specific to the prioritized zoonoses, thereby serving as a tool to direct and optimize zoonosis research, surveillance, prevention and control activities. Twelve zoonoses were prioritized: food-borne botulism in Nunavik, campylobacteriosis, cryptosporidiosis, eastern equine encephalitis, verotoxige…

Greening cities for public health

  • Greening is taking place in cities, primarily to adapt to climate change and its effects, like heat islands. This literature review describes the impacts of green spaces on health. Some observations are also put forward for optimal green space use and design.
  • Green spaces are beneficial for physical health, particularly because they provide opportunities for physical activity. Green spaces might also have positive effects for reducing numbers of obese and overweight people, linked to morbidity. Lastly, neighbourhood green spaces reduce the mortality associated with certain diseases.
  • Green spaces also provide benefits for mental health, such as reducing symptoms of depression and reducing stress. They can have positive effects on mental well-being, feeling of recovery, good humour and vitality.
  • For seniors, these green spaces are a better place for walking and reduce the risks of chronic health problems.
  • For children, they have a positiv…

Evaluation of the Fichier hebdomadaire des décès for estimating heat wave impacts

Since the 2010 summer season, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) has been producing an annual report on the impact of extreme heat waves on the health of the population, using the Fichier hebdomadaire des décès of the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ). The main purpose of this study is to verify the validity of this data source. The study also aims to measure the impact of age, material deprivation, and the presence of urban heat islands on the frequency of deaths during extreme heat waves.

A useful monitoring tool

Guide for the evaluation of a warning system for people vulnerable to heat and smog

Weather warning systems are among the main policy tools used by public authorities to protect the population from vagaries in the weather. More particularly, weather warning systems are implemented so that the government can monitor weather conditions and issue warnings when extreme weather events, such as heat waves, cold waves, heavy rainfall, etc., threaten the population. As is the case in all public interventions, it is important to analyze the performance of these systems, in order to evaluate their contribution to the population's safety and well-being.

In this report, a guide for evaluating warning systems for people vulnerable to heat and smog is presented. It is intended for managers and evaluators of these systems. It provides them with an analytical framework and methods for evaluating their relevance, implementation and impacts.

The guide proposes that relevance analysis must address the need for warning systems for people vulnerable to heat and smog. Mo…

Life cycle assessment of the environmental impacts resulting from the implementation of urban heat island mitigation measures

The Institut national de santé public du Québec (INSPQ) decided to draw on the expertise of the CIRAIG to conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA) of ten urban heat island mitigation (UHI) measures applicable to the residential sector. The goal was not to compare or evaluate the effectiveness of these measures, but rather to assess the other potential environmental impacts that result from their implementation and maintenance during a specified period. The options were therefore analyzed on an individual basis (implementation of a particular measure), without taking into account their temperature reduction potential.

This assessment was intended to:

  • Make it possible to individually compare the UHI mitigation measures applicable to the residential sector with a baseline situation, which corresponds to the status quo (i.e. taking no action).
  • Permit, if possible, a ranking of certain comparable measures according to their potential overall environme…