Extreme weather « Transition Brockville

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Tag : Extreme weather (140)

New climate data hub ClimateWest

National Observer / Carl Meyer / 20 January 2021

Canada’s three Prairie provinces are particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis, and now their governments are helping make climate data more accessible, according to the head of a new non-profit.

Jane Hilderman is executive director of ClimateWest, an organization that launched Tuesday aiming to make data on climate change accessible to municipal planners, land use planners, and other institutional-level groups in the Prairies.

Hilderman said all three provinces helped with the startup, as well as the federal government and other organizations.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

2020 was joint hottest year ever recorded

The Guardian / Damian Carrington / 8 January 2021

The climate crisis continued unabated in 2020, with the the joint highest global temperatures on record, alarming heat and record wildfires in the Arctic, and a record 29 tropical storms in the Atlantic.

Despite a 7% fall in fossil fuel burning due to coronavirus lockdowns, heat-trapping carbon dioxide continued to build up in the atmosphere, also setting a new record. The average surface temperature across the planet in 2020 was 1.25C higher than in the pre-industrial period of 1850-1900, dangerously close to the 1.5C target set by the world’s nations to avoid the worst impacts.

Only 2016 matched the heat in 2020, but that year saw a natural El Niño climate event which boosts temperatures. Without that it is likely 2020 would have been the outright hottest year. Scientists have warned that without urgent action the future for many millions of people “looks black”.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Warmer winters causing more ice-free lakes in N. Hemisphere

CBC News / Nicole Mortillaro / 23 December 2020

Climate change is having a widespread effect on lakes across the Northern Hemisphere, a new study has found.

The study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, examined 122 lakes from 1939 to 2016 in North America, Europe and Asia, and found that ice-free years have become more than three times more frequent since 1978.

These ice-free years not only threaten the livelihoods of people who depend on them, but they also have the potential to cause deep ecological impacts.

“Ecologically, ice acts as a reset button,” said Sapna Sharma, co-author of the study and an associate professor in the biology department at York University in Toronto.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Global heating warming up ‘nights faster than days’

The Guardian / Damian Carrington / 01 October 2020

The climate crisis is heating up nights faster than days in many parts of the world, according to the first worldwide assessment of how global heating is differently affecting days and nights.

The findings have “profound consequences” for wildlife and their ability to adapt to the climate emergency, the researchers said, and for the ability of people to cool off at night during dangerous heatwaves.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Dufferin County to assess all new projects with a ‘climate lens’

Orangeville.com / Alexandra Heck / 27 August 2020

Local environmentalists are applauding the County of Dufferin’s new plan to add an environmental scope to every project going forward.

As part of the municipality’s goals to mitigate climate change, county staff will be adding a climate portion to reports on items being considered by council […]

The scope of the “climate lens” will assess whether or not a new infrastructure would create greenhouse gas emissions and whether or not those impacts can be mitigated.

It will also consider whether there will be any danger for people or property in extreme weather events, like drought or flood.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Ontario launches climate change impact assessment

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks / 14 August 2020

The Ontario government has selected a consulting team led by the Climate Risk Institute to conduct the province’s first-ever multi-sector climate change impact assessment. The study will use the best science and information to better understand where and how climate change is likely to affect communities, critical infrastructure, economies and the natural environment, while helping to strengthen the province’s resilience to the impacts of climate change […]

As part of its work, the Institute will be reviewing a variety of information such as climate data, land use patterns and socio-economic projections. They will also develop an engagement plan to ensure the final assessment reflects the views and perspectives of Indigenous communities, municipalities, key economic sectors and the public. The assessment will be conducted over the next two years and it is anticipated that the final results will be released in 2022.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

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