Ontario Is Set To Have Some Of The Warmest Cities In Canada & Here's How Hot They'll Be
More hot days, longer heat waves and hotter highs are predicted for parts of the province. 🥵
CN Towner in Toronto. Right: Windsor.
Higher temperatures are warming up parts of Ontario and we're starting to get some summer vibes.
But some spots in the province could see the hottest maximum temperatures in Canada in the near future, depending on the world's carbon emissions.
A recent report by the Intact Centre On Climate Adaptation, a research centre located at the University of Waterloo, named the cities predicted to be some of the "hottest" in Canada out of 35 metropolitan areas from 2051 to 2080, and many of them are going to be right here in Ontario.
According to the report, Windsor is predicted to see its highest maximum temperature reach 39.6 degrees in a "high-carbon" scenario.
Here's how hot other cities across Canada could get in the future, based on high carbon scenarios:
1. Kelowna (40.2 C)
2. Regina (40.1 C)
3. Windsor (39.6 C)
4. Winnipeg (39.5 C)
5. Saskatoon (39.4 C)
6. Lethbridge (39.3 C)
7. Hamilton (38.9 C)
8. Ottawa (38.6 C)
9. Niagara Falls - St. Catharines (38.5 C)
9. Brantford (38.5 C)
10. Toronto (38.4 C)
"[The high carbon] scenario assumes that world [greenhouse-gas] emissions continue to increase at current rates through the end of the twenty-first century. This large volume of GHG emissions results in more severe global warming," the report said.
Here are the three key indicators of extreme heat
The report, which also looked at data on city temperatures from 1976 to 2005, determined the hottest metropolitan areas of Canada based on "three indicators of extreme heat:"
- the warmest maximum temperature
- the number of "very hot days" (days with temperatures of 30 degrees or above)
- the average length of heatwaves (when temperatures have been at least 30 degrees for three consecutive days or more)
Windsor topped the list as the city set to have the most "very hot days" across Canada with an average of 79 scorching days per year predicted for 2051-2080 in a high-carbon scenario.
Hamilton came in second, projected to see an average of 63.3 "very hot days" per year, and Niagara and Brantford tied in third with a projection of 63 days very hot days per year.
Windsor is also projected to have the second-longest average length of heatwaves in the country at 9.8 days.