The Big Story: It’s hotter than ever. Should we just get used to it?

More than 50 people died in a Quebec heat wave earlier this month.

It feels like it’s hot everywhere this summer. Record global temperatures and frequent natural disasters have left cities scrambling to keep their most vulnerable citizens safe, in Canada and around the world.

Scientists have a ton of data showing that rising temperatures and heightened natural disasters are a direct result of climate change.

So why aren’t we accepting the evidence? Is there a chance the weather we’re seeing in Canada and around the world this year is a climate coincidence, or is this just the new normal? If so, what can we actually do?

In today’s “Big Story” podcast, David Phillips, senior climatologist at Environment Canada, has some answers.

“We’re breaking records on this planet like crazy. I mean, this summer has been excruciatingly warm. There are four continents that are going through heat waves all at the same time — of course, all in the Northern Hemisphere because this is when our summer is,” he explains.

He says there’s no question summers are getting warmer and warmer. “We’ve seen heat spells, heat waves. We’ve seen it in Europe, Africa, parts of Asia, the United States… it’s almost as if the planet is burning up in some areas.”

---

Related articles:

Environment Canada issues air quality alerts, heat warnings for most of B.C.
Spell of hot weather expected to continue into next week
Hot dogs: helping pets manage the heat

---

Phillips says you would have to go back four decades to find a year that it cooler than normal, globally.

He adds there is some debate as to how much the burning of fossil fuels has contributed to this.

“Let me say this: If we look globally, in the last few years, we know that we are living through warmer times. If you look at it globally… if we look back over a relatively short period — say, 135 years — then 16 of the 17 warmest years have all occurred since the year 2000.”

“When you look at physical factors that control the climate — such as the sun’s output, the Earth’s tilt, volcanism, the oceans — if you look at the last 35 years, we should have actually been cooling off on this planet, not warming up. The only reason we’re warming up is what people have done.”

He says our land use is the “unknown factor.”

“We always blaming what’s coming out of our tailpipes and smoke stacks, the fossil fuel burning — no question about it, the world is warmer and our human signature is all over it.”

You can hear the full episode and subscribe to The Big Story podcast on iTunes or Google Play.

You can also hear it online at thebigstorypodcast.ca.

Some people feel the Earth’s temperature fluctuates over time and we are simply on an upswing.

Phillips says that’s a fair argument. “We can’t rule out the fact that there may be another ice age coming. It won’t be in our lifetime, for sure.”

But he says we need to look at more than just temperatures and rainfall amounts.

“Look at the other aspects of change on this planet… We’re seeing sea levels rising. Why are sea levels rising? It’s because, in fact, the glaciers are melting, but also water expands. It’s Grade 9 science. You warm up the water, it fills more space and expands. So, no wonder the seas are rising because the sea temperatures are warmer. We’re Canada. We have more glaciers than any other country in the world. And we’re losing our glacial ice mass in the south six times faster now than they did in the 1980s.”