1,400 annual deaths in Canada linked to wildfire smoke, report finds

A new global health report suggests that every year from 2020 to 2024 about 1,400 deaths in Canada were associated with wildfire smoke pollution as climate change takes an increasing toll on the country’s health.

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The report’s findings suggest heat exposure last year resulted in the loss of more than 40 million potential labour hours, 136% more than average in the 1990s.

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The report suggests access to affordable, off-grid, renewable electricity is “essential to tackle the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions and reduce climate risk.”

Yet globally, around one billion people are served by health-care facilities that lack reliable power supplies and the vast majority of households in the least developed countries use polluting and unreliable fuels to meet energy needs, underlining the “deeply unequal” access to clean energy.