By Nicole Williams, CBC News Ottawa, September 14, 2023
... Now, a new 530-page provincial report is warning the impacts of climate change will only get worse.
The report finds that eastern Ontario could face an average of up to 60 days of extreme heat (over 30 C) per year by 2080 under what's commonly known as the "worst-case" scenario where emissions rise until 2100.
Locally, that would mean last week's record heat would be a lot more common, as those types of temperatures would happen three times as often as they do now on average — placing vulnerable people, businesses, infrastructure and agriculture at further risk.
.... Coun. Shawn Menard, who also chairs the city's environment and climate change committee, said "the city is doing what it can right now" to adapt. Those efforts, he said, include pushing for building retrofits, working to reduce the risk of flooding and enhancing Ottawa's resiliency to powerful windstorms like last year's derecho.
... Coun. Steve Desroches said there needs to be a stronger partnership between the city and the province to make change. He called for an investment strategy to help cities such as Ottawa make infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather events.