Quebec’s health alert system for cold weather events

The effects of climate on the environment and human health impacts have been increasingly observed with some negative health outcomes shown through mortality and hospitalization data. Warning systems are put in place by public health authorities to intervene during episodes of extreme weather events. In Quebec, the SUPREME system that was developed by the Institut National de Sante Publique du Quebec (INSPQ) has been used for a decade to document relevant and real-time information for Quebec’s extreme weather hazards and their associated heat and all-cause mortality. However, other extreme events such as cold in Nordic regions or air pollution in large cities are also important to study. It is therefore important to adapt this system using appropriate methodologies so it can be applicable to specific health impacts that may be linked to other extreme weather hazards.

In this presentation, Dr. Fateh Chebana will focus on cold-mortality and hospitalisation data in Quebec, as well as to include a brief discussion on a number of methodological developments and perspectives.

Fateh Chebana, Professor, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique