Summer – did it have you a blast, or was it a cruel, cruel summer?
The warmer months are often something that many long for in the dead of winter and dread leaving behind. Lately, some Calgarians have been switching up which month they love most. Trading in their shorts and tees for more cozy outfits or even looking forward to the crisper air.
Why?
It could be because summers have changed from the ideal many remember.
Alberta saw a relentless stretch of heat waves in July, and some communities were evacuated from the threat of wildfires, which blanketed some of August in smoke.
Data between 1981 and 2010 show the climatological average of 12 smoke hours for the summer. But since then, summers have seen more smoke, with many reaching well over 100 hours.
These extreme events come with serious health warnings for vulnerable populations like older adults, kids, babies, and people with heart conditions and asthma.
But there’s more, especially when it comes to heat.
Maybe you were more irritable – or you felt disconnected from your loved ones because it was too hot to cuddle up on the couch after a long day. Or couldn’t get your steps in, skipped a run.
Too hot to handle?
Dr. Tess Wiskel is an emergency room physician and Climate and Human Health fellow at Harvard. She said when people think of heat waves they think: of heat exhaustion, muscle cramps, heat stroke or worse.
“But we also know that he can impact the body in a lot of ways,” she said.
“We know that increased temperatures and heat waves will cause us to have decreased concentration and memory impairments and decreased cognitive function.”
Some studies have found that children’s test scores dive in heat waves. Wiskel said there are also increases in aggressive behaviour and violent crime.
WATCH | Why summer can sometimes feel like a bummer:
Whether that’s because of the heat itself, or a compounding effect of not getting enough sleep during a heatwave, is something Wiskel said research is still looking to parse out.
“I think it’s important to recognize this and be aware so that you can check in on your friends and family and have an idea of what’s going on in your body,” Wiskel said.
Mental health is a concern too.
In the summer, when smoke rolls in or temperatures spike, The Canadian Mental Health Association Calgary Executive Director Linda McLean said her organization notices.
“We’ve been getting lots and lots and lots of panicked calls around those who are unhoused and are desperately looking for supportive housing,” McLean said. “We also get a lot of calls related to people who are experiencing heightened levels of anxiety.”
While McLean said she can’t control the smoke, her organisation does offer services like peer support that can help individuals grappling with some of the stress that can come with summer extremes.
When places like Calgary experience prolonged heat waves, Wiskel said it’s something that can overwhelm hospitals and other support systems when those types of temperatures are out of the norm.
“When I grew up in Calgary, we didn’t have air conditioning, we didn’t think about it, we didn’t have sustained temperatures,” she said. “Places that aren’t used to heat and aren’t prepared.”
Wiskel expects summers with extreme weather conditions, like heatwaves, to persist and become more common.
“We’re seeing the impacts of heat before we’ve prepared with protections for our workers, protections for our renters, protections for people who may be unhoused in our cities,” she said. “We need to enact policies and we needed to enact them yesterday, last year, years ago, to protect lives.”