The cities of Kelowna, Kamloops, Penticton, Creston and Vernon are expected to face some of the hottest and longest-running hot flashes beginning in 2051.
Kelowna is expected to face the longest-lasting heat waves and the hottest high temperatures of any major Canadian city, a new report said.
The report, released Wednesday by the Intact Climate Adaptation Center, outlines several measures that tenants, landlords and communities can take to prepare for the effects of extreme heat.
Modeling heat waves between 2051 and 2080, researchers have found that Kelowna will become one of the 10 hottest metropolitan areas in Canada.
Smaller inland communities such as Kamloops, Penticton, Creston and Vernon are also expected to reach similar temperatures.
In another indicator, Windsor, Ont., Is expected to have the most hot days with an average of 78.8 days at 30 C in high-emission scenarios. In this field, Kelowna was fourth after three other southern cities in Ontario.
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More than 17 million Canadians in the city are expected to face extreme heat in the coming years. The report also warns of “red zones” in low-lying areas of British Columbia, the southern prairies, the St. Lawrence River Valley in Quebec and the regions north of Lake Erie in Ontario.
While floods and forest fires – which are expected to increase in frequency and intensity this century – will cost Canada huge sums of money, heat waves will increase as a kind of silent killer.
“The effects of heat are death,” said lead author Joanna Ackem, managing director of the center’s climate-resistant infrastructure.
The parts of the country that are expected to be affected by the hottest heat for the longest time are not always the most vulnerable. Heat waves that occur outside of summer or in communities unaccustomed to extreme heat can face huge human casualties, as seen at Metro Vancouver last summer, when nearly hundreds died alone in hot, poorly ventilated areas.
Ackem called on all levels of government to take the extreme heat more seriously.
After last year’s heat wave in British Columbia, Ackem said he expected to see growing recognition for the deadly potential of heat. But when she looked at Canada’s federal disaster database, she still failed to mention the disaster.
On a Health Canada website outlining its role in the disaster, Eyquem said the agency did not include extreme heat among other risks such as earthquakes, floods and disease outbreaks.
“This is not considered an emergency,” she said.
To date, local authorities have largely been left to deal with the extreme heat, whether they are setting up cooling centers or deploying foggy fountains. But as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, provincial and federal governments have a key role to play in securing funding, coordinating action plans and communicating.
Meanwhile, a person who chooses to adapt his home to extreme heat also makes life more comfortable and accessible at the same time.
And while the report doesn’t focus specifically on local communities or the acute challenges of northern Canada, Eyquem says it offers a basis for action at the local level.
“There are simple things, even just sticking foil on windows to cut off the sun coming through your windows,” she said.
“It’s very affordable. So I don’t know why we don’t do it. ”
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