Currently in Toronto — August, 22nd, 2022
The weather, currently.
Although it's not as hot, it will remain humid and unstable as we start up the new work week. Cloudy skies in the morning, with isolated showers likely. The wake-up temperature will be near 20°C. Clouds will dominate the day along with some rain showers developing by lunch time and the risk of occasional thunderstorms for the afternoon. There will be some dry time, but overall, it will be an active day.
The wind will be light from the north. The daytime high will be 25°C, feeling like 32°C with the humidex.
Monday night: mainly cloudy with isolated showers. The low is 19°C.
What you need to know, currently.
Houston is using nature to reduce flooding.
And now that hurricane season is well underway, the city’s green solutions are more important than ever.
Exploration Green in Clear Lake was once an abandoned golf course. Now, it is both a public greenspace and a flood detention project. The project first started in 2005 and is a collaboration between the conservancy and the Clear Lake City Water Authority.
The fifth and final retention pond will be finished around next year. During storms, these five ponds can each hold 100 million gallons of floodwater that would otherwise be rushing into the local bayous and causing flash flooding. One the ponds are full, the water will drain into the bayous. When it’s not raining or storming, the ponds hold water to support native plant and animal life.
Exploration Green works with nature, rather than against it, mimicking natural life to absorb and slow down rain water. In fact, when Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017, the first pond was almost complete filled with stormwater, saving around 150 homes from flooding, according to reporting by Houston Public Media.
Along with mitigating flood risk, green infrastructure is also known to improve water and air quality, minimize erosion and reduce urban heat.
—Aarohi Sheth
