Roy McLaren has a lifetime of farming experience: he’s farmed in southwest Manitoba for over 70 years. He looks at the climate projections presented in the Prairie Climate Atlas with concern. “That is pretty bad,” he says, looking at maps projecting a huge increase in very hot weather. “With that kind of heat,” McLaren muses,…
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Scientists have collected a huge amount of evidence proving that Earth is heating up. Over a century of meticulous temperature records from around the world plus state-of-the-art satellite and ocean-buoy measurements show that the average global temperature is getting warmer and warmer. Many people wonder how we know that it’s us – humans – causing…
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A whole generation of Canadians has never experienced what was considered a “normal” Canadian climate for most of modern history. Historical records show that every year since 1998 – that’s 20 years ago now – has been warmer than the 20th century average. The images below illustrate historical Canadian climate data back to 1898 (Data…
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A new series of maps made by climatologists at the Prairie Climate Centre highlights just how vulnerable Canada is to continued climate changes. The maps illustrate how temperature and precipitation are likely to change in the future under two hypothetical warming scenarios: a ‘low carbon’ scenario that assumes the international community will get together very…
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The pace and magnitude of human-caused climate change is nothing short of remarkable. The dramatic climate change we are now experiencing is a rapid and unexpected side effect of the astonishing ingenuity of humanity. It’s really quite amazing that industrialization – harnessing the power of machines to do our work – could have such…
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Memory has a way of distorting our perceptions of climate change. We remember snow drifts as high as our heads when we were kids, but forget that we were only three feet tall. We remember experiencing weeks on end of ‘windchill 2000’ weather in February, but forget that that way of measuring wind…
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What will climate change mean for the Canadian Prairie Provinces? A new educational poster was published today by the Prairie Climate Centre highlighting the risks of climate change across the region. Few aspects of Prairie life will be unaffected by climate change, especially if global carbon dioxide emissions continue to climb. Forest fires will likely…
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For forest ecologist Dr. Andrew Park, getting Manitoba’s forests ready for climate change is of top concern. Park, an associate professor at the University of Winnipeg, is partnering with the Prairie Climate Centre to study how climate change will affect tree species in North America. Using climate model data provided by AdaptWest, the potential ranges…
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Last week we launched the Prairie Climate Atlas – which illustrates how climate change is likely to impact the Canadian Prairie Provinces. One of the most dramatic maps in the atlas shows how the number of days per year with temperatures greater than or equal to +30 C triples or even quadruples across…
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The Prairie Climate Atlas launched today is the first interactive online tool to map the dramatic changes projected to occur to the climate on the Canadian Prairies. The interactive website developed by the Prairie Climate Centre will provide important resources that citizens, planners and policy-makers need to understand the risks expected to occur in…
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A joint initiative of the University of Winnipeg and the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Centre will help governments, businesses and community members identify and anticipate risks, take advantage of emerging opportunities, build capacity, and enhance economic and environmental resilience to climate change.
