Toronto Will Become As Hot As Belize By 2100, According To Meteorologists

A new climate report estimates that summer highs in the world’s biggest cities will increase as much as 5 C on average in 2100.

The World Meteorological Organization and Climate Central recently released an interactive climate map showing how hot major cities around the world will be in 80 years. When it comes to Canadian cities, the changes are quite substantial, with some places expected to see temperatures as hot as those much farther down south.

According to the climate map, Toronto summers will become just as hot as those in Belize as a result of increased carbon pollution. Such represents a total rise of 6.6 C, which brings the city’s summer averages up to the 30’s and 40’s from the 20’s. 

Vancouver will see similar temperatures to those in Chicago. Though this may not seem like such a drastic change since Chicago is a relatively cold city, it is still represents a substantial jump in average temperature for Vancouver - a 6.9 C jump, to be exact.

Calgary will also experience a warming, with summers becoming more like those in Los Angeles. Highs will jump to 27.2 C, which is a 7.2-degree increase from its current summer average of 20 C.

What’s even more disturbing than this is that that map also shows 20 cities that will become so hot that there are no places on Earth with comparable temperatures. As good as it might sound for Canada to get a bit of warmer weather, the hotter temperatures could cause an increase in the frequency of dangerous natural events, including flooding and forest fires. 

Though, it’s never too late to do something about climate change - meteorologists say that these increases can be thwarted by cutting carbon emissions, which is the entire purpose of the Paris Climate Accord.