January 1, 2019

Very Hot Days


Very Hot Days are an indicator of summer heat.

High temperatures are important. They determine if plants and animals can thrive, they limit or enable outdoor activities, define how we design our buildings and vehicles, and shape our transportation and energy use. It is useful to know how high summer temperatures are likely to become in the future, to make sure that our cooling and air-conditioning systems can reliably deal with these extremes.

When temperatures are very hot, people – especially the elderly – are much more likely to suffer from heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Many outdoor activities become dangerous or impossible in very high temperatures. In general, Canadians are not used to extremely hot summers, and further warming will bring new and unusual risks as well as a very different experience of the summer season.

High, persistent temperatures increase the risk of drought, which can severely impact food production and increases the risk of wildfire. High temperatures can also lead to more thunderstorms, which means increased risks of flash flooding, lightning, hail and perhaps even tornadoes.