The City of Toronto has "activated all heat emergency measures" as an extended extreme heat warning keeps temperatures climbing across the city, its medical officer of health says.
Dr. Michelle Murti said the province's orange warning for extreme heat has city staff working at full capacity to keep residents safe through a stretch of dangerously hot days.
"Environment Canada is already predicting that because of the severity and duration of this heat alert, we are expecting health impacts because of this ongoing heat they were experiencing over several days," she told Global News.
"Whenever we have multiple days of heat alerts, that really is taxing on the body."
The federal weather agency's warning for Toronto forecasts temperatures between 31 and 34 C, reaching as high as 37 C in some areas. Humidity will make it feel even hotter, and Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be the most oppressive days of the week.
Pools, libraries and community centres open longer
Under Toronto's heat relief strategy, public pools and wading pools are staying open longer, and residents have increased access to air-conditioned public spaces including community centres, civic centres and libraries.
"We have ongoing services that are available all the time and then during periods like this, when a heat alert is activated, we will have extended hours for things like pools and wading pools, all of our civic centers are open for drop-in," Murti explained.
The city's most vulnerable — older adults, infants and people experiencing homelessness — face the highest risk during the heat event, health officials say.
City responds to criticism over cooling centres
The city faced criticism after closing some of its cooling centres early. In response, Toronto has opened a round-the-clock cooling centre at 136 Spadina Rd. and has added roughly 100 extra spaces in its shelters.
Mayor Olivia Chow said outreach teams are working to get water and shelter to people living outdoors.
"As to those that are on the street, we are giving out bottled water; these outreach workers are trying to bring them to the cooling centres," Chow said Tuesday.
Not everyone believes the city's current approach reaches the people who need it most. Lorraine Lam of the Shelter and Justice Network said many of Toronto's heat relief options don't work for unhoused residents.
"They are not going to a swimming pool to cool down," Lam said. "Also, can you just imagine the frenzy that might happen if an unhoused person showed up at a splash pad? We just know that that's not realistic."
Lam also said the city needs to publicize its services more widely, and pointed to a program that existed before 2020, when 24-hour cooling spaces were spread across the city and people could ride transit for free to reach them. That transit program has since been removed.
Murti is urging residents to use the public cooling spaces if they need them, and to watch for signs of heat exhaustion in themselves and others as the hot stretch continues into the week.
