Extreme heat to become norm as climate change sinks in

By COLLIN GALLANT on April 28, 2022.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

Medicine Hat will see daily temperatures rise above 30C for almost two months each year by 2051, according to a new study that calls for adaptive action in urban planning to address the effects of climate change.

That’s about four times as many “extreme heat days” than at present and will come with longer heatwaves and higher maximum temperatures regardless of how successful humans are at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, states the report.

“It’s not a choice, and now we really need to focus on adaptation,” said Joanne Eyquem, managing director at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo.

Her online presentation Wednesday detailed the centre’s latest report on the how irreversible heat caused by climate change will affect living conditions in Canada’s urban areas.

Reducing emissions of carbon dioxide would lessen the effect, most scientists agree, but 17 million Canadians living nearest the U.S. border can expect substantial changes to weather patterns. That will strain infrastructure, cause health impacts and social system change, said Eyquem.

She told 200 attendees to Wednesday’s presentation that Canadians may consider flooding to be the most obvious example of extreme weather, but much higher temperatures will also take a toll on health and finances in the future.

“We’re more concerned about how we’ll heat our homes than cool our homes, so our planning hasn’t considered that,” she said, later adding, “We want to get the message out about what people can practically do to manage these risks.”

Climate models show major temperature changes across a wide swath of southern Canada, including southeast Alberta, and almost every major city in the nation.

Medicine Hat is not broken out in the figures, but Lethbridge would see the number of plus-30C days in a typical year gradually rise from eight at present to between 40 and 54 after 2051.

Heat waves would double in length from four days to nearly nine days long, and up to five degrees could be added to maximum temperatures.

The Hat, Brooks, Taber and Drumheller in Alberta, as well Leader and Maple Creek in Saskatchewan, are also highlighted as areas in danger of seeing extreme heat in the future.

City councillor Alison Van Dyke said her farm upbringing has stoked her interest in how climate change affects food and social systems, and she believes the city and residents can be better prepared to weather much hotter temperatures.

“It’s something that we have to think about and plan for,” she said this week. “There are some things the city can do, but residents need to consider what they can do on their own as well.”

The city’s municipal development plan calls for protection of the urban tree canopy, designing roadways and infrastructure to withstand more extreme rain storms and heatwaves, and even different boulevards and sidewalk material to help with water retention.

The effect will be most acute in the valleys of the interior of British Columbia, the Canadian Prairies along the U.S. border and the Great Lakes corridor through the St. Lawrence Seaway, from Windsor to Montreal.

That could lead to higher mortality among elderly and low-income populations in heat emergencies.

To combat that, individuals and governments should consider system changes to address health effects and infrastructure upgrades to incorporate greenspaces’ natural cooling abilities and building design.

Homeowners can offset heat effects in winter and summer and improve property value, said Eyquem, by planting trees, adding insulation and choosing building materials to reflect heat.

Large landlords should employ natural space, green roofs and consider cooling effects of building retrofits. Backup power and water supply to operate ventilation and elevator systems during brown outs and power outages may also be needed.

Municipalities should consider developing an “extreme heat emergency plan” much like flood and disaster planning to provide cooling centres, watering stations and programs for low-income population and seniors.

General city planning should consider less roadway and more greenspace to provide more naturally cooling spaces. Greenspaces and tree canopy in urban environments can combat a “heat island” effect caused by concrete and asphalt and larger structures which better retain heat.

Higher temperatures also affect electrical systems, which are often relied on for cooling, water delivery and communications.

“The challenge is not necessarily ‘knowing what to do,’ but rather, putting preventive actions into practice on the ground,” the report concludes.

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