Toronto's getting hotter. Experts say a chief heat officer could help the city adapt

CBC

a day ago

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As Toronto braces for another hotter than usual summer, some climate policy experts and advocates say a chief heat officer could help the city adapt to extreme temperatures faster.
Municipalities around the world are appointing a central person to lead heat resilience teams, which are task forces responsible for developing and overseeing heat management and adaptation solutions.
Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Athens and Melbourne are among the cities that already have a chief heat officer, says Caroline Metz, managing director of climate resilience and health at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo.
"Cities are prioritizing heat as a threat," she told CBC Toronto. "They're investing in a more climate resilient future, looking to protect health and wellness, and reduce losses — loss of lives, loss of livelihoods."
Toronto summers may not hit the same high temperature as Miami, but climate change is heating up the city fast.
A report by the Climate Resilience and Health at the Intact Centre found that Toronto could experience up to 55 days of temperatures above 30 C by 2051. That's up from the current 12 days of extra hot weather and doesn't factor in the urban heat island effect within cities, meaning the way concrete, asphalt and other dark materials intensify heat.
Plus, days are already getting hotter.
There's an 80 per cent probability that the next three months in Toronto are on track to be hotter than in past years, according to national temperature forecasts.
Designating a single entity to take care of heat management would "break down the silos" and co-ordinate communities, government agencies and the private sector, Metz said, even in a city like Toronto, which is considered a leader on climate issues.
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"Heat is one of the most challenging climate hazards," she said. "We've got to think about this in terms of how it affects people, their health, how they live and work."
In an email, Los Angeles' Chief Heat Officer Marta Segura told CBC Toronto that her office's main focus is to create the city's first heat action resilience plan and that they work "behind the scenes" to provide greater accountability and support across all departments addressing extreme heat awareness.
"These efforts help to cool the city, fostering social cohesion and community well-being," she said.
Toronto behind on building resilience, advocate says
Right now in Toronto, 15 different municipal departments and agencies play a role in heat management, including Toronto Public Health, Toronto Emergency Management, Environment, Climate and Forestry, as well as Shelter and Support Services, according to the city's heat relief strategy.
The document outlines tools and programs geared at keeping residents safe, including cooling centres, street outreach and public messaging. Other initiatives include the city's recently launched air conditioner assistance program pilot project for low-income seniors and efforts to expand tree canopy coverage.
Still, Toronto is behind on heat adaptation, says Lyn Adamson, co-chair of the Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign.
"Heat is really that big of an issue," Adamson said, recalling the heat dome over Vancouver in 2021 that resulted in the deaths of over 600 people, most of them seniors who were living alone.
"That was a lack of preparation and it took Vancouver by surprise — it should not take any other city by surprise," she said.
A spokesperson for the city manager's office said in an email that the heat relief strategy doesn't include plans to hire a chief heat officer.
A way to validate problem and track data
Toronto did have a chief resilience officer not long ago — a position funded from 2017 to 2019 by a donation from the Rockefeller Foundation.
It led to the city's first resilience strategy, aimed at addressing climate change and poverty.
That strategy notes that many low-income Torontonians live in older apartment towers in dire need of retrofit repairs to deal with extreme weather.
Appointing a chief heat officer would restore the city's commitment to adaptation and finally give heat management the profile and validity it needs, Adamson says.
"This is a health protection measure that we need to take," she said.
Another benefit of the position would be better data collection, says Warren Mabee, director of the Queen's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen's University.
"We don't have good data on how many people are actually being affected by heat. We don't have good data on workplace accidents," he said.
"Pulling together that data and analyzing that data is a full time job and somebody needs to take that on."
However, a single leadership position wouldn't be enough by itself, says Emmay Mah, executive director of the Toronto Environmental Alliance.
"We really need multiple dedicated positions and resources across divisions. We know that the city is working on it," she said.
"It in terms of having a senior position ... it can't be a ceremonial thing. It's really a matter of life and death for some residents."