Our summers are getting hotter with more extremely hot days due to climate change.
There are things that you can do and resources that are available to reduce the impacts on you and your community during extreme heat events.
Stay Cool!
Learn what you can do to stay cool by reading the City's Extreme Heat fact sheet [PDF - 182 KB] which includes helpful information and a map of the locations of public spaces to cool off, the City's 13 misting/water bottle filling stations (available for use throughout the summer), drinking fountains and community water features.
View these amenities on our online Extreme Heat VicMap.
Tips to Keep Children Cool
Here are some tips from Health Canada [PDF - 3 MB] to help protect your children from extreme heat.
Tips to Keep Pets Cool
Check out these tips from the BCSPCA [PDF - 161 KB] on how to keep your pets cool.
Preparing Before Summer
There are many things you can do to prepare for extreme heat events. PreparedBC has created the Extreme Heat Preparedness Guide to help individuals, families, and communities get prepared.
Some preparedness examples include identifying family and community members who might be at risk such as those who live alone or older adults who have limited mobility; evaluating if you can stay home or if there are areas of your home that are cooler; and identifying locations where you can go to cool down such as malls, libraries and green spaces with shade.
Extreme heat helpful resources are available below.
Check out the Four Steps to Emergency Preparedness to learn more about how to prepare for all types of emergencies.
Heat Alerts
There are three categories of heat alerts issued by Environment Canada and Climate Change.
A Special Weather Statement may be issued for the first heat event of the year, providing local governments time to provide helpful heat preparation information to communities before it gets hot.
A Heat Warning will be declared when daytime high temperatures are forecasted to reach at least 29 degrees Celsius for two consecutive days, with the nighttime lows not falling below 16 degrees Celsius.
An Extreme Heat Emergency will be declared when the criteria for a Heat Warning is expected to last for three or more consecutive days, with temperatures continuing to increase.
City-Run Cooling Centres
If an Extreme Heat Emergency is declared, the City will activate its Heat Response Plan. City-run cooling centres will be opened, if required. These centres will be air-conditioned indoor spaces for the public when outdoor or indoor temperatures at home become dangerous.
Locations of heat-related resources will be communicated to residents using the City’s social media channels on Twitter and Facebook and through the City’s emergency notification system Vic-Alert.
For more information on extreme heat resources in Greater Victoria, visit: Local Emergency Program Websites.
Drought and Water Conservation
The City of Victoria is part of the Regional Water Supply System that is managed by the CRD. For information and resources on drought levels and water conservation visit Water Conservation | CRD. Here are some helpful tips to conserve water.