A report by the Canadian Environment and Climate Change Department indicates that Canada is heating at a higher rate compared to the rest of the world.
The report with the title “Canada Changing Climate Report” indicates that climate in Canada is changing and will continue to change on average, twice the rate at which the rest of the world is warming. The report also says that from 1948 when data was made available, Canada’s temperature on the land has been increasing by 1.7 degrees Celsius. (About 3 degrees Fahrenheit)
The following are some of the key points from the report.
- Human activities cause the cause of the increased heating in Canada.
- Since 1948, the amount of rainfall is higher than that of snowfall and this seems to continue to the 21st century.
- Temperatures are increasing daily in Canada with more frequent hot temperatures while cold is becoming extremely intense.
- The hot temperature will continue and become even hotter.
- For the last 30 years, the amount of snow that was covering Canada has significantly reduced.
- There will be more flooding which are expected to increase due to the rise in the sea level.
- Shortage of freshwater during the summer season will continue to affect the country because, during hot summers, surface water is evaporating at a higher rate.
Michael Mann who is a distinguished professor t Penn State University specializes in atmospheric science. He told CNN that the contents of the report confirm what is already there in North America. Canada is especially among the countries in North America that are experiencing excessive warming than any other country in the world and the effects are visible.
Canada’s warming is a threat to its identity because even the glaciers and ice are melting. This is making the winters shorter because snowfall is changing to rainfall and excessive flooding in the coastline. He added that proves the fact that climate change is now a real threat. Something should be done to reduce carbon emissions. Otherwise, climate change will continue to affect other countries and Canada will be the most affected.
Katharine Hayhoe, a director of the Climate Science Center located in Texas Tech University says that climate change is a concern to everyone since it affects all of us.
Hot temperature causes strong heat waves which leads to excessive flooding and more world fires. There is also a rise in sea level and invasive species among the effects that the world is not ready for according to Hayhoe. She added that understanding the places where we currently live is critical in ensuring that we have a better future than current condition today.
Climate change as predicted by other government reports
Just like in Canada, researchers in the U.S have also warned on the effects of climate change.
The U.S Global Change Research Program unleashed a report in November stating that the economy is likely to lose many billions of dollars and Gross Domestic Product of more than 10% at the close of the century.
Average temperatures in the world are increasing at a high rate than modern civilization has ever experienced. Human activities are causing climate change according to Davis Easterling, a director of the Technical Support Unit at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
If there will be no reduction in the levels of greenhouse emissions, temperatures in the world will continue to increase by 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) according to the report.
Among the effects of climate change will be increase in temperatures according to the U.S report. This will lead to 2,000 premature deaths by 2090 in the Midwestern parts of the U.S.
There will also be an increase in food-borne and waterborne diseases especially among children, the elderly and the poor according to the U.S report.
