Expert: Heat waves linked to climate change with Canada’s new tool

The Greater Montreal area is under a heat warning Monday as a warm and humid air mass could lead to a humidex value of 40. Environment and Climate Change Canada recently released the first results from its rapid extreme weather event attribution system, showing that human-caused climate change significantly increased the likelihood of recent heat waves in Quebec, Eastern Ontario, and Atlantic Canada​. (Environment and Climate Change Canada)

Here is an expert from McGill University who can comment on this topic:

Djordje Romanic, Assistant Professor, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences 

“A heat wave is characterized by air temperatures that exceed historical climate averages. They can span several days to a few weeks, adversely impacting our health, quality of life, the economy, and the environment. They can also contribute to wildfires. This raises the question: Is a particular heat wave a result of natural climate variability or human-induced climate change? Canada’s Extreme Weather Event Attribution system is designed to assess the likelihood of an event being driven by human-caused climate change. But just how accurate is this tool?”

Djordje Romanic is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. His research interests include thunderstorm winds, natural hazard modelling, and applications of atmospheric sciences to wind engineering, sustainability, and resilience.  

djordje.romanic [at] mcgill.ca (English)