In this Friday, May 28, 2010, file photo, tourists and local residents enjoy a day the the beach in the South Beach area of Miami, Beach, Fla. Photo: AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File Summers in Toronto will feel like North Miami by the year 2100, according to data from climate change researchers.
The U.S.-based Climate Coalition projected what average summer (June, July and August) high temperatures will be in major cities for the period of 2080 to 2100, assuming greenhouse gas emissions continue increasing. Climate Coalition then compared these projected temperatures to current temperatures in other cities to give an idea of what sort of environment future generations can expect.
According to the report, Chicago will be more like Texas by 2100, where the summer high is around 33.9°C. Portland and Seattle will feel like southern California, Omaha will feel like where Texas meets Mexico and Wichita, Kansas will feel like southern Arizona.
Some projected temperatures didn’t even have a city in the U.S. that compared. In Las Vegas, current summer highs average at about 38.3°C. By 2100, the report says it’ll be 44°C, which is what summers are like now in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Phoenix, Arizona will feel like Kuwait City.
These projections don’t account for humidity or dewpoint, so they’re only scratching the surface of how uncomfortable a climate change-infused future will be.
Postmedia asked Climate Coalition to apply their model to Canadian cities and, although it’s not going to feel like the Middle East up here, it will definitely be shorts-only weather.
In Toronto, where the summer high averages at 25.3°C, Climate Coalition predicts it will feel like North Miami, Florida at 31.6°C by the year 2100. As Torontonians know, with the addition of humidity that number is going to feel closer to 40°C in the middle of summer.
Other projections include Montreal, which will feel like Charleston, South Carolina at 30.9°C; Winnipeg which will feel like Decatur, Alabama at 31.1°C; Calgary which will feel like Des Moines, Iowa at 28.5°C; and Vancouver which will feel like Laguna Niguel, California at 27.5°C.
Don’t start investing in Canadian palm trees just yet, though. Warmer temperatures will mean more beach-friendly days, but climate change could mean more extreme weather during the rest of the year as well.
Check out Climate Coalition’s interactive map for data on U.S. cities, in fahrenheit.
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