U.S. lays out extreme heat plan amid record temperatures. What about Canada?

Like in the U.S., the federal government in Canada has staked much of its reputation on enunciating and enacting a comprehensive response to climate change.

Crippling heat waves are an annual fixture in the United States – but it’s not every day the White House announces a detailed strategy to confront them.

So far, it’s been an extreme-weather summer across the continent: brutal heat, a barrage of tornadoes, flooding in the U.S. northeast and an unprecedented wildfire season in Canada.

This weekend in the U.S. promises to be no different, with temperatures in California’s record-setting Death Valley predicted to reach a scorching 52 C.

That’s why the Biden administration is introducing what it calls an “all-of-society response” to help manage a challenge it says is only getting worse.

In Ottawa, the federal government is also getting ready with a strategy geared towards helping the most vulnerable, including older Canadians, Indigenous communities, inner-city residents and people who work outside.

The U.S. plan includes new research centres to help underserved communities prepare for future heat waves, as well as work on a national strategy focused on equity and environmental justice.

“Millions of Americans are being impacted by extreme heat waves, which are growing in intensity, frequency and duration due to climate change,” the White House said in detailing its plans.

The first six months of 2023 included no fewer than 12 separate “weather and climate events” each costing more than US$1 billion, it said.