Hospital as ‘climate bunker’: How one health facility is preparing for the future – CTV
February 19, 2025
The health impacts of climate change are increasingly obvious, from heat stroke to respiratory problems due to wildfire smoke.
But extreme weather also affects the health-care system patients rely on.
During the 2021 heat dome in Vancouver, the heat made some MRI and CT scanners inoperable. According to a report by the Canadian Climate Institute, in some clinics, fire departments flooded the roofs to lower indoor air temperatures.
A report from the City of Vancouver predicts the risks to health infrastructure will increase. West coast sea levels are expected rise by approximately one meter by 2100. There will also be more poor air quality days due to wildfire smoke as well as more concentrated pollutants at ground level due to hotter weather.
That’s why St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, expected to open in 2027, has made climate change resilience central to design considerations – the first hospital in Canada to do so.
