Prepare today to save lives tomorrow: SFU study finds gaps in B.C. extreme heat response plans
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 21-Sep-2025 20:11 ET (22-Sep-2025 00:11 GMT/UTC)
Local authorities must do more to prepare communities in British Columbia for the dangers of extreme heat, according to a new research paper from Simon Fraser University.
Four years after the infamous 2021 heat dome, which killed more than 600 people in B.C. alone, the ground-breaking study found significant differences in how municipalities within the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley regional districts are preparing for heat events.
24 April 2025/Kiel. When bottom trawls are dragged across the seafloor, they stir up sediments. This not only releases previously stored organic carbon, but also intensifies the oxidation of pyrite, a mineral present in marine sediments, leading to additional emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). These are the findings of a new study conducted by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. Based on sediment samples from Kiel Bight, the researchers investigated the geochemical consequences of sediment resuspension. Their conclusion: areas with fine-grained sediments, which play a crucial role in CO2 storage in the Baltic Sea, should urgently be placed under protection. The study has now been published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
Amid warnings of near record heat ahead in 2025, the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment (CPCHE) and the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) say Canada’s schools and child care facilities are ill-prepared and children are paying the price. CPCHE’s summary of evidence and Collective Call for Action, signed by 40+ partners and collaborators, is complemented by twin CELA reports elaborating on the need for climate-resilient infrastructure.