Search for "Climate"

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has been monitoring the weather and recording temperatures since 1880, announced that the global temperature in June 2019 averaged 15.9˚C, beating out June 2016 as the hottest on record. Regional temperature records for June were also set in Europe, Russia, Asia, Africa and South America. “Earth is running a fever that won't break thanks to climate change,” reported North Carolina state climatologist Kathie Dello. “This won’t be the last record warm summer month that we will see.”

A report issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada that was based on the work of more than 40 scientists concluded that Canada is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. Canada’s average temperature is 1.7°C higher than it was 70 years ago, while average temperature during winter is 3.3°C higher, and average temperature in the Arctic is 2.3°C higher. The report stated that the effects of climate change are “effectively irreversible” and will last for “centuries.”

In a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers at the University of California concluded that if global carbon emissions maintain their current pace, the Arctic Ocean will be almost entirely ice-free at least part of every year by sometime between 2044 and 2067. Currently, Arctic ice covers about 4.5 million km² at its lowest amount each September — a sharp reduction from the historic level of around 6 million km². The study predicts that 50 years from now, ice will only cover about 1 million km² of the Arctic Ocean, mostly close to land, leaving the open ocean virtually ice-free. (See also: Climate Change; Endangered Arctic Animals.)

The Canadian Forces Station in Alert, Nunavut, recorded a record-high temperature of 21˚C. The average high temperature for Alert in the month of July is 7˚C. Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, also hit a record high of 23.5˚C on 9 July.

The organization Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami released a 48-page plan for adapting to a changing climate in the Arctic, which is warming twice as quickly as the rest of the planet. “Inuit have decided we are going to seek a partnership with the Government of Canada and start to adapt any way we can through coordinated action,” said Natan Obed, the head of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. The plan calls for improvements to infrastructure threatened by thawing permafrost, increased spending on transportation, improvements to telecommunications and the incorporation of traditional Inuit knowledge in building codes and practices.

During the week of 1–8 July, a heat wave with temperatures up to 35.3°C killed an estimated 53 people in Montreal and another 40 in other parts of Quebec. 

A study conducted by Clean Energy Canada, a think tank at Simon Fraser University, found that the clean energy sector represented about 3 per cent of Canada’s GDP in 2017. Between 2010 and 2017, it grew at a rate of around 5 per cent annually, compared to 3.6 per cent growth in the overall economy. The number of jobs in the sector increased by 2.2 per cent per year from 2010 to 2017, compared to 1.4 per cent for total jobs in Canada.

Six tornadoes touched down in the Ottawa-Gatineau area, including an EF-2 tornado in south Ottawa, which caused considerable damage in residential areas, and an EF-3 tornado that tore from Dunrobin into Western Quebec.

A report issued by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that for climate change to be kept to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, greenhouse gas emissions would need to be reduced at least 45 per cent (of 2010 emissions levels) by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2050. Otherwise, the most dire “climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth” may not be avoided. 

Near the South Terminal of Vancouver International Airport, Greg McDougall, the CEO of BC’s Harbour Air Seaplanes, completed the first full-fledged flight of an electric DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver. The plane has a 750 horsepower propulsion system designed by Seattle-based company magniX and the battery capacity to fly 160 km. Harbour Air transports around 500,000 people a year on routes within that range. It hopes to use the planes for its commercial passenger flights within two and a half years. “Our goal is to electrify the entrie fleet,” McDougall said. (See also Bush Flying in Canada.)

The Trudeau government passed a motion in the House of Commons declaring “that Canada is in a national climate emergency which requires, as a response, that Canada commit to meeting its national emissions target under the Paris Agreement.” The next day, 18 June, the government announced it had given a second green light to expanding the Trans Mountain pipeline. The first green light had been rejected by the Federal Court of Appeal for failing to properly consult with Indigenous peoples. The two announcements were widely criticized for being contradictory and at odds with each other.

Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England and former governor of the Bank of Canada, accepted a position with the United Nations as the special envoy on climate action and climate finance. He will begin serving in the role sometime in 2020. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Carney “a remarkable pioneer in pushing the financial sector to act on climate.” (See also Climate Change.)

A province-wide state of emergency was issued after 566 forest fires across the province forced more than 3,000 people to evacuate their homes. The federal government deployed 220 Armed Forces personnel, two helicopters and an airplane to assist  3,372 firefighters already on the ground. By the end of August, more than 12,984 sq. km had burned, making 2018 the worst forest fire season in BC history.