When you think of Canada, you think of a place that’s regularly cooler than others during the summer. 2016 was the warmest year ever recorded, following 2015 and 2014. This temperature hike seemingly affects the health of Canadians.
A report made by Health canada and the Science Media Centre of Canada talks about the melting of sea ice, changing precipitation patterns and thawing permafrost.
During a recent heat wave, the hospitals in Southern Ontario received 11% more patients in the energy room. In 2010, in Quebec, 280 people died from excessive heat and casualties are now becoming common.
“There is no denying it and no doubt about it: our planet is warming and climate change is well underway, around the world and right here in Canada. And extreme heat events are one of the consequences. Periods of extreme heat are uncomfortable, but they can also exacerbate existing health conditions, such as asthma, and put people at risk for heat-related illnesses, even death,” the SMCC website claims.
And this is just the beginning: during the next 80 years almost the entire Canadian territory will suffer similar heat waves, no matter what we do. Even in the most optimistic of cases, with reduced GHG emissions, the summers will warm by 1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius. But life is not ideal, so those temps could be even higher.
Canada is only one example of the catastrophic events that can happen due to climate change. While denying the phenomenon is an easy thing to do right now, in 20 to 30 years it won’t be the same.
[via cleantechnica]
