Toronto (ANTARA News) – Six more people have died in Montreal due to a heat wave, bringing to 12 deaths in the city due to extreme weather conditions plaguing central and eastern Canada, it was announced Wednesday (4/7) local health officials.

Earlier, Montreal raised the state of emergency from “intervention” to “alert” after an increase in calls to government health information lines and ambulances.

David Kaiser, a health worker with the Montreal Department of Public Health, said most of the victims who died lived alone and did not have air conditioning in their homes.

Separately, five people also died in Quebec's Eastern Townships, which health officials said was also linked to the heatwave.

The Canadian Weather Service has issued a heatwave warning for southern Quebec, including Montreal, which is expected to remain in effect until Thursday local time. Similar warnings were also issued in Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The air temperature in Montreal reached 34 degrees Celsius on Wednesday (4/7), a peak which is expected to continue on Thursday, before dropping to 24 degrees Celsius on Friday (6/7), according to a press release from the air temperature agency. Reuters press.

In a statement released Wednesday, Montreal's emergency service reported more than 1,200 calls per day related to the heatwave, which is 30 percent more than on its busiest days. Montrealers are urged not to call 911 for health concerns that are not life-threatening, as an increase in the number of calls has led to delays in handling urgent matters.

Also read: Heat wave in Pakistan kills 65 in Karachi
Also read: BMKG denies question of heat wave hitting Indonesia