Offers services during periods of extreme cold, heat, or air quality.
Service offers:
- activation of an extreme weather response once forecasts indicate conditions of extreme heat or cold or poor air quality
- water bottle filling stations available all summer long across the city to ensure everyone has access to clean and safe drinking water
- Winter Resource Card - essential information for vulnerable Edmontonians to help them access critical services like shelters and health services during the winter months and extreme cold weather conditions
Extreme weather response activations occur for:
- extreme cold: forecasts with temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius with wind chill for at least 3 days in a row, typically accompanied by an Environment Canada alert for extreme cold
- extreme heat: forecasts with peak temperatures of 29 degrees Celsius during the days and lows of 14 degrees Celsius during the nights for at least 3 consecutive days, typically accompanied by an Environment Canada alert for extreme heat
- high risk air quality conditions: 2 consecutive days of a score of 7 or higher on the Air Quality Health Index
Activations typically (depending on the season) include:
- ETS Extreme Weather Bus Routes - Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) will operate 1 additional overnight route for their shelter shuttle service to transport vulnerable people to available shelters
- Al Rashid Mosque will open up to 50 overnight spaces to help expand shelter capacity during activations; Extreme Weather Bus will include Al Rashid on their route
- encampment response teams will conduct wellness checks and only address high risk encampments during this activation
- all City of Edmonton recreation facilities will be open to the public during operating hours for respite from extreme weather
- N95 masks available to people in need of protection from smoke during high risk air quality conditions
The City also considers other factors when activating a response, such as the numbers of shelter spaces available and information from key stakeholders about the health risks and impacts of weather on vulnerable Edmontonians.