SOURCE: Environment Canada 2006 . 1 Climate change, in combination with the urban heat island, is expected to exacerbate Toronto’s warming trend and bring about more intense and prolonged heat waves. The summer of 2005, for instance, witnessed a record 37 hot days, compared to an average of 13 hot days in the years from 1971 to 2000. A record number of 48 smog days also occur [...] Days with temperature above 30 degrees SOURCE: 40 Environment Days with temperature Canada, Science 30 above 32 degrees & Impacts of Climate Change 20 Days with temperature 2002 above 35 degrees 10 0 1961-90 2020s 2050s 2080s . 3. IMPACT OF HEAT ON HEALTH Heat waves can pose a great risk to public health, particularly to vulnerable populations such as the elderly, indiv [...] Extreme heat alert 20 Heat alert SOURCE: Toronto Public 18 Health 2007 2 8 10 3 14 6 3 8 9 0 3 20 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Year Under climate change the number of hot days, associated heat alerts, and heat‐related illness and mortality are expected to rise. Toronto Public Health and Environment Canada determined that heat‐related mortality in Toronto averaged 120 death [...] SOURCE: Liu 2003 . 4 Rising annual average temperatures under climate change are expected to shift the yearly peak for electricity demand from winter to summer months (Liu 2003). Energy demand for cooling will increase, while demand for heating is expected to decline. The graph below, illustrates the projected change in electricity demand in Ontario over the next 75 years. [...] SOURCE: Liu 2003 Unless steps are taken to cool ambient air temperatures during summer months and/or reduce electricity demand for cooling, electrical system failure and blackouts may become increasingly common. While this inconveniences the city and its inhabitants at large, vulnerable populations such the elderly, young mothers and children in shelters, and individuals