is projected to hit its zenith this Sat. July 15 — the hottest day of the year for the city, according to what may be the largest thermal comfort study ever performed in North America.
A spokesperson for Toronto told the Star over email: “The study is intended to provide citywide guidelines for thermal comfort in the public realm, to guide the new development in the city.”After studying the city’s weather data and its historic patterns while working closely with Environment and Climate Change Canada, the study determined July 15 as the hottest day of the year for Toronto on average.
“We are going to see hotter days, more of them and for more prolonged stretches,” Jalalian said. According to her team’s research, temperatures are expected to be even hotter in Toronto’s downtown and urban centres due to the “urban heat island effect” — where more urbanized areas experience higher temperatures due to human activity.
“I assumed at first, without seeing the data, that our winters may get shorter ,” Jalalian said, adding that she was surprised when weather projections showed the exact opposite: “We’ll just get more extreme heat and extreme cold — so we’ll get more extremes, and less of the in-between,” according to the study’s projections.
Thermal comfort in a city determines whether people feel comfortable going outside and getting active, and may even factor into the health and survival of its denizens, from the vegetation and raccoons to human beings. It’s especially important for people experiencing homelessness and other disadvantaged populations living outdoors, who are disproportionately impacted by adverse weather — the study prioritizes these people as a result.