Would naming heat waves change how you respond to the threat of heat?

This story is part of the Prairies Climate Change Project, a joint initiative between CBC Edmonton and CBC Saskatchewan that focuses on weather and our changing climate.

Would you take a heat wave more seriously if it was named heat wave Gary? 

With hot weather continuing throughout Alberta, some experts say naming a heat wave — the same way major storms like hurricanes are named — could help get the message out that heat poses a serious risk. 

"Heat is under appreciated as a risk and as a health risk, but it's responsible in terms of looking at climate impacts," said Caroline Metz, member of the executive committee of Climate Proof Canada, and managing director at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, University of Waterloo.

"Heat is serious and it can be deadly, and what we're seeing because of climate change or climate warming is that heat waves are lasting longer, they're more intense, and they're happening more often." 

Metz said she thinks it could be similar to how hurricanes are named. 

"We had Hurricane Fiona just a couple years ago, and when we have a hurricane, that's an immediate association," said Metz. "We have a way to talk about that hurricane, so naming a heat wave gives us a way to talk about that heat wave."

According to experts who want to name heat waves, a name — or a ranking — of an extreme weather event makes it much easier to communicate the associated risks. 

Some cities already naming, ranking heat waves 

The idea of naming heat waves isn't new. 

Seville, Spain launched the first pilot project to name and rank heat waves in 2022. That year, a category 3 heat wave – the most severe tier — was named Zoe. 

The naming project was a collaboration between the Seville city council and the Adrienne Arsht–Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht–Rock), an American foundation that focuses on building resilient communities in the face of climate change. 

"Seville is an incredibly hot city, I think people, anyone who's been to Seville or honestly been in Europe this summer will know that it's been incredibly hot and it's only getting hotter," said Owen Gow, deputy director of the Extreme Heat Initiative at Arsht–Rock. 

"We named four heat waves starting with I think what was the most widely publicized, and reported on heat waves Zoe, and having the city council as a close partner … [it] was [an] incredibly valuable start."

In 2021, a ranking system was launched in Athens, Greece, ranking heat waves from zero to three. That program has since expanded to six other cities. 

Gow says there's interest in both Australia and the U.K. to develop heat wave ranking systems. 

By this time next year, the state of California will also have a heat wave ranking system, which is being developed by the California Environmental Protection Agency. 

But not everyone thinks naming heat waves is a good idea.

Environment and Climate Change Canada told CBC News that naming heat waves might misdirect attention from important messaging. 

"Though naming heat waves may raise public and media awareness of the event, it also misdirects the attention away from messaging, including information on vulnerability and protective actions," wrote a spokesperson for ECCC in a statement to CBC.

"Development of heat-health warning systems and action plans, in partnership with public health and emergency management decision-makers, is the government of Canada's current focus in preparation for extreme heat events."

Heat is a health risk 

Advocates for a naming or ranking system say it could compel governments to take the health risks associated with heat more seriously. 

"We need to start talking about heat and reflecting the true risks associated with heat," said Metz. 

According to Statistics Canada, in Canada's 12 major cities from 2000 to 2020, about 670 excess non–accidental deaths, 115 excess cardiovascular deaths, and 115 excess respiratory deaths are attributable to the increased mortality risks during extreme heat.

"I think it's important to bring heat into the equation the same way we're recognizing … wildfire smoke, flood risk, even risks from hurricanes and storms as potentially serious, damaging to physical property, and harmful to human health and well-being," said Metz. 

"Heat is responsible for more illnesses and deaths compared to any other weather hazards combined." 

With global temperatures rising, Gow says it's important we start to update city infrastructure, and create emergency response plans for heat, to ensure they are prepared for what's to come. 

"We've seen records being broken for the last several years, and I don't think we can count anymore on those records being maintained or staying the same … we are now in a situation where we need to prepare for a future that looks vastly different."