Essay by Eric Worrall

If this deadly global warming continues, Canadians might have to invest in T-shirts and shorts.

Broken temperature records are alarming but it is not too late to limit global warming

Published: September 3, 2024 11.51pm AEST
Alex Crawford
Assistant Professor, Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba

July 22, 2024 was the hottest day in recorded human history, with a global average temperature of 17.16 C. 

This followed the hottest June ever recorded, which followed the hottest May ever recorded. This all follows 2023, which was the hottest year on record at 1.48 C warmer than the 1850-1900 average according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

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… 1.48 C of total warming doesn’t sound like much. So although these numbers are useful global benchmarks for scientists and policymakers, most Canadians will likely only feel the effects of climate change through specific (usually extreme) weather events.

For example, global warming means more sweltering heat waves that make Canadians sweaty, tired and — in some cases — in need of medical care. 

Consider the city of Montréal. Between 1900-1923, Montréal averaged six days per year with temperatures over 30 C. Since the year 2000 (2000-2023), the average number of days per year reaching 30 C has been more than double at 13.

Any individual hot day may still just be a hot day — it’s weather. But twice as many hot days over 24 years compared to a century ago? That’s climate change.

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Read more: https://theconversation.com/broken-temperature-records-are-alarming-but-it-is-not-too-late-to-limit-global-warming-236300

As an Australian who lives three hours drive from the Southern edge of the Tropics, I’d like to assure Canadians we’re doing just fine in this deadly warm climate. Some of us even enjoy it. You’re not going to die if Montréal starts to experience 14 days above 30C / 86F per year.

But some of you might live longer if global warming takes the edge off your savage winters.

Cold weather kills far more people than warm weather, even in hot countries like India.

The fact that cold weather is a far greater threat to human health than heatwaves should be no surprise to anyone, except perhaps climate scientists.

Humans are a tropical species. In the environment where our ancestors originally evolved, clothes are optional. Everywhere else, we all need clothes to shield us from anything less than extreme tropical conditions, otherwise we die from exposure.

As the Indian study I linked above demonstrates, the greatest threat to human health from ambient temperature is people ignoring temperatures which are slightly cooler than comfortable. How many Canadians have died before their time, because green policies have driven up the cost of energy, and they hesitated to switch on the room heater?

The evidence is clear. Our bodies become medically stressed even by mild cold discomfort, stressed enough to produce a substantial spike in death rates, strokes and heart attacks. Cold weather produces a much bigger death rate spike than hot weather, even in hot countries like India.