10 takeaways from the Star’s Undeniable climate change series | The Star

2019-07-19

Excerpt from this article from The Toronto Star:

For the past nine weeks, the Star’s Undeniable project has brought readers to the frontlines of climate change in Canada. In every region chronicled in the 16-part series, climate change is already affecting people, infrastructure, wildlife and the natural environment. The effects of a warmer climate are, and will continue to be, felt in every facet of Canadian society, from farms, fisheries, schools and hospitals, to municipal, provincial and federal governments, local businesses and the largest corporations.

Canada is getting hotter. Between 1948 and 2016, Canada’s annual average temperature over land increased by 1.7 degrees, about double the global warming rate.

Cities and towns aren’t ready. Across Canada, municipalities are struggling to deal with aging infrastructure built for a different time as temperatures rise and precipitation becomes more intense.

Bad news for the Arctic. Northern Canada is warming faster than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature in Canada’s north increased by 2.3 degrees between 1948 and 2016, about three times the global rate. This warming trend will continue, even if global greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, with average winter temperatures rising by as much as 4 degrees in the Arctic by 2050.

The way we farm and fish is changing.Climate change is presenting both challenges and opportunities to those who make their living from the land and sea.

Land is disappearing into the sea. While erosion is a natural process, rising ocean temperatures can contribute to increased storminess, resulting in larger and more powerful waves that eat into coastlines.

Indigenous peoples of Canada are being hit hard. Climate change is profoundly affecting Canada’s Indigenous peoples, whose cultures and livelihoods are closely linked to the land, water, snow and ice.

Wildfire seasons are becoming longer and the flames are getting bigger. While no individual event can be fully linked to climate change, wildfires have increased in frequency, intensity, size and duration as the climate has warmed.

Floods will get bigger and more frequent. Climate models are predicting that floods across the country will get larger, more frequent and more destructive.

It’s going to rain a lot more. Climate models predict that precipitation will increase, on average, across Canada. In many areas, precipitation has already increased, with a shift towards more rainfall and less snowfall. Atmospheric rivers, which can dumpintense rainfall in short periods of time, are expected to get a lot bigger, and make landfall on the west coast more often.

Balancing business interests with climate change mitigation will be a challenge. There is an irony of climate change in that while it brings with it a host of negative consequences, it could also present great economic opportunities.