As the July heat settles over Ottawa’s neighborhoods, families crowd the beaches at Mooney’s Bay and along the Rideau Canal. Children splash in the water, their laughter carrying across the shoreline. But amid these quintessential summer scenes, local health officials are reminding residents that these warm months bring unique health challenges that require attention.
“We see it every summer,” says Dr. Vera Etches, Medical Officer of Health at Ottawa Public Health (OPH), as we walk through a busy Andrew Haydon Park. “The same preventable injuries and illnesses. Heat-related emergencies that could have been avoided with proper hydration. Severe sunburns that increase cancer risks down the road.”
Last summer, Ottawa paramedics responded to over 130 heat-related calls during just one week-long heat wave in July. The city’s emergency departments reported a 22% increase in visits for heat exhaustion and dehydration compared to average summer months.
The risks aren’t limited to extreme heat. When I visited the mosquito monitoring station near Stittsville last week, OPH environmental health specialists were already tracking higher-than-normal populations of mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus, likely due to the wet spring conditions we experienced.
“Prevention is always easier than treatment,” Dr. Etches explains. “Small behaviors—drinking water before you feel thirsty, reapplying sunscreen every two hours—these simple habits save lives.”
Ottawa Public Health has launched a comprehensive summer safety campaign focusing on five key areas: heat illness prevention, water safety, sun protection, bug bite avoidance, and food safety for outdoor gatherings.
The heat safety recommendations come at a critical time. Environment Canada data shows Ottawa has experienced a 30% increase in days above 30°C over the past decade. Climate projections from the National Capital Commission suggest this trend will intensify, with potentially twice as many extreme heat days by 2050.
“The changing climate means we need to adapt our summer behaviors,” notes Sherry Beahen, Manager of Environmental Health at OPH. “Heat illness can progress quickly from mild symptoms like fatigue to life-threatening conditions like heat stroke.”
OPH recommends checking on vulnerable neighbors during extreme heat events, particularly seniors living alone and those with chronic health conditions. They’ve partnered with the City of Ottawa to establish cooling centers in community buildings across the region when temperatures exceed dangerous thresholds.
For young families enjoying Ottawa’s beaches and pools, water safety remains paramount. Drowning is the second leading cause of preventable death for children under 10 in Canada, according to the Lifesaving Society of Canada. At Britannia Beach, I watched as lifeguards conducted hourly scanning drills, their eyes methodically sweeping their zones of responsibility.
“Always maintain active supervision when children are in or near water,” advises Stephanie MacLellan, an Ottawa lifeguard for 12 years. “That means putting down your phone and maintaining constant visual contact. Drowning doesn’t look like it does in movies—it’s often silent and happens in seconds.”
As for sun protection, dermatologists from The Ottawa Hospital have joined the public health campaign, emphasizing that skin cancer rates continue to climb across Canada. A 2022 study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found melanoma cases have increased by 30% nationwide since 2010.
“We’re seeing patients in their 30s with significant sun damage,” says Dr. Jennifer Beecker, a dermatologist at The Ottawa Hospital. “The ultraviolet exposure you receive as a child and young adult can trigger skin cancers decades later.”
She recommends broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher, reapplied every two hours, along with protective clothing, hats, and seeking shade during peak UV hours between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The rising temperatures have also expanded the range of disease-carrying insects in the Ottawa region. Beyond the familiar nuisance of mosquitoes potentially carrying West Nile virus, OPH has recorded increasing numbers of ticks carrying Lyme disease throughout the greenbelt and surrounding areas.
“We’ve gone from virtually no reported Lyme disease cases a decade ago to dozens annually,” explains Ryan Jessup, an environmental health specialist with OPH. “After any outdoor activity, particularly in wooded or grassy areas, do a thorough tick check on yourself, children, and pets.”
For protection against both ticks and mosquitoes, OPH recommends DEET or icaridin-based repellents, wearing light-colored long sleeves and pants when in wooded areas, and tucking pants into socks during hikes.
As summer gatherings and barbecues fill Ottawa’s parks and backyards, food safety rounds out the public health messaging. The health unit investigated 28 separate foodborne illness outbreaks last summer, affecting over 200 residents.
“The ‘danger zone’ for bacteria growth is between 4°C and 60°C,” says OPH food safety inspector Maria Luisa Canton. “Summer heat accelerates spoilage, so that potato salad or sandwich platter shouldn’t sit out for more than two hours—one hour if it’s particularly hot.”
While these warnings might seem to cast a shadow over summer fun, Dr. Etches emphasizes that prevention doesn’t mean staying indoors. “Ottawa’s summer months are precious. We want residents enjoying every moment safely—swimming, hiking, exploring our beautiful city. Just do it with awareness and preparation.”
As our conversation ends, I watch families continuing to arrive at the park, coolers and beach umbrellas in tow. A young mother applies sunscreen to her squirming toddler while an elderly couple rests in the shade of a maple tree, water bottles within reach. Small actions that might just prevent them from becoming statistics in next summer’s public health reports.
Ottawa Public Health has made their complete summer safety guide available on their website, with printable checklists for different summer activities and age groups.
