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Canada’s climate warming twice as fast as global average: government report

Ottawa – Canada is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world, on average, says report commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The report, Canada’s Changing Climate Report: Advancing Our Knowledge for Action, documents changes across Canada in temperature, precipitation, snow, ice, permafrost and freshwater availability as well as in Canada’s three oceans. A warmer climate, it says, will affect the frequency and intensity of forest fires, the extent and duration of snow and ice cover, precipitation, permafrost temperatures, and other extremes of weather and climate, as well as freshwater availability, rising of sea level, and other properties of the oceans surrounding Canada.

The assessment was led by Environment and Climate Change Canada, with contributions from Fisheries and Ocean Canada, Natural Resources Canada and university experts.

The outlook for ground water is summarized in Chapter 6 of the report. The conclusion is that “many studies show a seasonal shift toward earlier recharge in association with projected earlier snowmelt and, thus, there is medium confidence that spring recharge of groundwater aquifers over most of the country will occur earlier in the future.”

According to the ministry website, this first document of the series provides the climate-science foundation for upcoming reports, which will address the impacts of climate change on our communities, environment and economy, and how we are adapting.

Read the full report.