Violent storms, water shortages in store for Canada: report
Last Updated: Friday, March 7, 2008 | 6:39 PM ET
CBC News
Canada can expect to see more devastating storms and extreme weather because of climate change, a yet-to-be released federal report concludes.
The report, prepared by more than 100 Canadian scientists on behalf of Canada's Department of Natural Resources, was released Friday, but CBC News learned Thursday what it contains from several people involved in compiling the report.
Ice storms, like the 1998 storm that hit Eastern Canada, will be more frequent in Canada's future, the report warns.
(Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)
The report focuses on the impact climate change will have on the country, in terms of the weather it will generate, and the effects on areas like infrastructure, energy production and drinking water.
The report, the first of its kind done for the federal government in 10 years, says Canada can expect more ice storms, torrential downpours, floods, droughts and landslides, as well more days of extreme heat and smog.
The report says the increase of extreme weather has already begun, and will only get worse.
"The models predict as we go into the future that those events will be more frequent than they have been in the recent past," Gordon McBean, a geography professor at the University of Western Ontario in London, said Thursday.
McBean was one of the scientists involved in the report.
He said the extreme weather will mean more insurance claims from damaged homes and property, while the country's roads and bridges will take a beating. Coastlines in some communities will erode more rapidly than usual.
Canada will have to adapt, McBean said.
"What's really important is that as we invest in rebuilding that infrastructure, we build it for the climate of the future, not the climate of the past."
In Iqaluit, Nunavut, subdivisions are already being built to withstand more rain in areas that were once considered Arctic desert, but are now seeing warmer weather.
Drinking water shortage
While some communities will be coping with more rain, others may endure droughts lasting a decade or more. Western Canada, in particular, could face short winters and long, dry summers.
Water levels in rivers in Alberta and British Columbia are already dropping significantly, as are the levels of the Great Lakes.
The result could be a shortage of drinking water, the report says.
It also warns that industries that rely on water — oil, gas, hydroelectricity, agriculture, even salmon fishing — will also suffer, while there could be an increase in forest fires.
But there will be some positives sides to climate change's impact. McBean said the growing season in some parts of Canada's north will be longer, while crops in southern Canada will improve as the weather warms up.
"I'm told by some wine enthusiasts in the country that we'll have even better wines coming from southern British Columbia and the Niagara area as we get warmer, hotter summers in those parts," McBean said.
Canada at a 'critical turning point'
On a related note, some of Canada's largest environmental groups issued a report on Friday criticizing what they consider a lack of leadership on the environment and outlining a roadmap on the issue.
"Canada is at a critical turning point," said Peter Robinson, executive director of the David Suzuki Foundation, one of the groups involved in the second report.
It calls for Canada to immediately recommit to the Kyoto Protocol. It also proposes a key policy change to set prices for greenhouse gas emissions starting at $30 per tonne of CO2 in 2009, then increasing them to $75 by 2020.
"[Canadians] want to see their country transformed from a paper tiger — quick to sign agreements, but slow to implement solutions — into an action hero," the report urges.
The groups involved in the report also included Greenpeace Canada, World Wildlife Fund, Ecojustice, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, and Pembina Institute.
