Why we can’t air condition our way out of extreme heat

The past three weeks on Earth have been the hottest since records began, and the effects of global warming are becoming increasingly deadly as temperatures continue to climb.

The 2021 heat dome in B.C. led to the deaths of 619 people — it’s the deadliest weather event in Canadian history. Temperatures rose to above 40 degrees and stayed high even at night. In June 2022, the province’s coroner service released a report with recommendations to prevent deaths in the future.

Frances Bula is a frequent Globe contributor who reports on urban issues in British Columbia. She’ll explain how the urban landscape contributes to the deaths, what’s being recommended to help cool B.C. buildings and what the rest of Canada can learn from it all.

This episode originally aired June 9, 2022.

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