CANADA: Although average temperatures have risen significantly around the world, Canada and the oceans surrounding the country face an even greater increase, according to Canada’s Climate Change Report, published by the country’s government.
“Canada is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world”. The government report has found, warning that drastic action is the only way to avoid catastrophic outcomes. According to the study released by “Environment and Climate Change Canada“, it paints an ugly picture of Canada’s future, in which deadly heatwaves and heavy rainstorms might become a common incidence. Forty-three government scientists and academics authored the peer-reviewed report.
Photo: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/floods-and-flood-control. An aerial view of an overflooded dam on the Chicoutimi river. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Jacques Boissinot
While global temperatures have increased 0.8C since 1948, Canada has seen an increase of 1.7C – more than double the global average.
The team of scientists provides an assessment of how and why the climate has changed, and what consequences it could have in the future. Among other things, the report looks at changes in temperature, climate extremes, sea level, amount of rainfall, as well as snow and ice levels.
The researchers revealed that since 1948, when it began recording, Canada’s annual temperature has risen on average twice as fast as in the rest of the world. It has risen by an estimated 1.7 degrees Celsius.
The greatest increase has been observed in the north of the country, in the Canadian prairie region, and in the north of the province of British Columbia. “In northern Canada, the average annual temperature has risen by 2.3 degrees Celsius,” the analysis points out. These figures represent a rise three times faster than the world average.
In the future, the warming trend will continue and temperatures will become increasingly extreme, which could lead to a series of catastrophic consequences. Climate change will increase the risk of drought, forest fires and even urban floods, among other things.
One of the main causes of ecological problems is human activity, so it is possible to limit the rise in temperatures only if Canada and the rest of the world reduce the emission of carbon and other gases that affect the atmosphere, says the study.
“Climate change is real, and Canadians are feeling its impact. The study is clear, we have to take action now,” said Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and v, in a statement published on the website of the Canadian government.
The Yucatan Times
Newsroom
