Record-breaking global average temperature disproportionately affects unhoused encampments
Illustration by Sage Blackwell.
On July 22, the daily global average temperature reached new heights at a record-breaking 17.16 C. The previous record, 17.09 C, had been set just the day before. Although Earth has been hotter millions of years ago, the key difference is today’s accelerated pace of change. According to NASA, the current rate of global warming is unlike anything seen in the past 10 000 years. Many are already aware that this unprecedented shift in climate is decimating ecosystems across the planet, but few are fully aware of the effects that it has on socially marginalized demographics — like those who are unhoused.
Among the most vulnerable are people experiencing homelessness.
“Those who are house insecure or those who are homeless are going to be much more directly exposed to the heat and weather in ways that are going to have immediate and long-term effects on their well-being,” said Founding Director of UBC’s Climate & Society lab Dr. Andrew Jorgenson. This exposure increases their risk of heat-related illnesses, such as heatstroke and dehydration, as well as exacerbating existing health conditions, he explained.
“[Unhoused] people are more psychologically and physically vulnerable to mental episodes of illogical or agitated behavior,” said Drew, an employee at SOLID Outreach Society, an organization providing support to the homeless community in Victoria. “[Drugs] and dehydration, and the heat itself has led to an increase in seizure activity. … We probably see equal seizures and overdoses, [when in previous years] we would see maybe a seizure a year.”
“Everyone here has a ‘complex.’ It’s not one diagnosis, it’s multiple,” said a 55 year old unhoused man who used to work as a mechanic. “I’m a person on disability. Although you can’t see my wheelchair, I’m not employable. That has always been a hard pill to swallow,” the man, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Martlet.
“Older people who are homeless … it’s probably pretty rough on them,” said Rob, a young unhoused man. “The city has got a couple mist stations set up. … I’ve used them a few times myself.”
Mist stations, six-foot aluminum pillars that can spray cooling mist and fill water bottles, were developed by the city as a part of their extreme heat response plan following the June 2021 heat dome. But these stations are not a comprehensive solution, according to experts.
“These challenging phenomenons are driven by capitalism — corporate capitalism in particular,” said climate sociologist Dr. William Carroll about social inequality and climate change. Carroll explained that social inequality is a necessary condition for capitalism. As climate change intensifies, more people become impoverished, because the system is primarily concerned with generating and appropriating private profit for a small class of investors and top executives.
“The solutions to the climate crisis are not technological solutions — they are grounded in politics,” added Jorgenson. “We already know what needs to be done. It’s quite simple, we just need to stop burning fossil fuels. Easier said than done.”
In 2021, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels accounted for over 90 percent of total global emissions. This means that even if oil and gas companies eliminated their emissions from extracting, transporting, and refining their product, the planet would continue to warm as long as we rely on fossil fuels.
In Canada, the biggest challenge to stop using fossil fuels, according to Canada’s National Observer, is that companies and financial institutions have heavy investments in them. There are multi-billion dollar megaprojects designed to make a profit off the oil sands operations.
In turn, not-for-profit organizations struggle to keep up with the rising demand. The 2024 State of BC’s Non-Profit Sector Report, Under Pressure, found that “the sector is operating in extremely difficult times, with feelings of being overwhelmed, stretched, underfunded, challenged, uncertain, and concerned.”
“The demand is always high, and the need for shelter spaces, in particular, always outweighs the supply,” CoolAid’s Community Engagement Manager Tracey Robertson told the Martlet in an emailed statement. “The most significant challenge we almost always face in providing support is funding that covers the wide range of things that are needed.”
Antonia Mash, Director of Operations at Together Against Poverty Society (TAPS) told the Martlet in an emailed statement that “TAPS believes that a greater supply of affordable housing, and legislative reform to protect the market renters from unreasonable and exploitative rent increases, are desperately needed in B.C.”
