The weather of 2099 to change Montreal

Photo Dominic Scali
Ali Nazemi would like to see Montreal become a city “climate-resilient” and that it be a model for other canadian municipalities.

Dominique Scali

Monday, September 4, 2017 21:28

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Monday, September 4, 2017 21:28

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Montrealers will have the impression that it is hotter in the centre of the city of LaSalle in the future, shows a researcher who expects more fluctuations from one sector to the other in the region.

“These changes will be quite huge to be felt,” said Ali Nazemi, professor at Concordia University in civil and environmental engineering. “If before, the difference between the average temperature of the two places was 1 degree Celsius and that, in the future, she is 4°C, people will notice it. “

In a study released last week by the institution, the researcher concluded that the planners and engineers will increasingly have to think of the infrastructure as a function of climate change, which will not affect all neighborhoods the same way.

1950 to 2099

Mr. Nazemi and her team have compiled temperature and precipitation from 1950 to 2005 in the eight meteorological stations in the greater Montreal, from Saint-Jérôme to Saint-Hubert (Longueuil), passing through Dorval. They then compared these data with the projections of climate change at NASA, that they have applied until 2099.

“What surprised us, is that not only climate changes, but it changes faster and faster. Also, it is seen that the variability within the region is increasing, ” says the researcher.

For example, the city centre is likely to be increasingly affected by urban heat islands, in contrast to the area of Angrignon park, shows-t-it.

“And what happens when it gets warmer ? People use more air conditioning, which cools the interior of homes, but sends more warm air to the outside. “

Assess the danger

This trend should be taken seriously, because it affects the demand for water and electricity, ” he says. It also applies when it comes time to assess the risk of flooding or to construct a system of sewers or water treatment.

“If we underestimate the danger of flooding, one runs a risk. If we overestimate the danger, we built infrastructure to a hyper expensive, that will never be all in operation, ” said Mr. Nazemi.

“We can’t just rely on historical data to anticipate the future, the changes accelerate. “

Hence the importance of developing technologies even more advanced in order to better predict the impact of climate change in hyper-local. And society as a whole puts the hand to the dough to curb global warming, he insists.