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Nighttime temperatures are getting hotter, and that poses a danger for all of us | CBC News

Nighttime temperatures are getting hotter, and that poses a danger for all of us | CBC News

Nighttime temperatures are getting hotter, and that poses a danger for all of us | CBC News
Jul 23, 2021 2 mins, 4 secs

When it comes to climate change, there is one fairly well-understood extreme that will affect humans in the decades to come: heat.  .

Scientists know that climate change will see events like hurricanes, droughts, floods and heat waves increase in frequency or intensity.

While we know that daytime temperatures are rising, in some regions — specifically in parts of Ontario and Quebec — nighttime temperatures are warming faster. ?

However, parts of eastern Canada, including Ontario and Quebec, are seeing more frequent heat waves and tropical nights, defined as nighttime temperatures 20 C or higher. .

For example, according to the Climate Atlas of Canada, the number of tropical nights in Toronto averaged roughly 6.9 annually from 1976 to 2005.

"We're seeing an increase in hot extremes in Canada that's larger than the global mean warming," said Nathan Gillet, a research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Average temperatures in Canada have already warmed by 1.7 C and the country is warming at more than twice the rate of the planet. .

Increasing heat waves with higher-than-average temperatures during days and nights are also taking a toll on animals and delicate ecosystems, as well as crops.

A study published in the journal Global Change Biology last October found that nighttime temperatures are rising across most of the world.

In those areas that saw more nighttime temperature warming than daytime, there was more cloud cover, higher precipitation and more humidity.

This can affect nocturnal animals, but also animals that are active during the day who use the cooler nighttime temperatures to recover from heat stress.

Met Office issued its first Amber Extreme Heat Warning as temperatures were forecast to rise to the 30s in parts of the country.

Daytime temperatures in the 30s may not seem high compared to some parts of Canada but it's all about what people are accustomed to. .

In another example of how governments are attempting to adapt to a warming climate, a team from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) in Quebec, together with the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) announced on Wednesday that a new heat wave warning threshold for the province should be introduced.

"[Heat waves aren't] something we think about as a big hazard in Canada, but as the climate warms, we're going to see this more and more," said Environment and Climate Change Canada's Gillet. "Heat waves cause deaths and and are dangerous.

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