Canada warming at twice the global rate, scientists say
Canada's rate of warming is about twice the global rate, according to a climate change briefing presented to the country's premiers on Monday.
For the first time in nearly seven years, federal, provincial and territorial leaders gathered together in Ottawa with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Their meeting comes a week before the start of the UN climate change conference in Paris, known as COP21.
Alain Bourque, the executive director at Ouranos, a consortium on regional climatology and adaptation to climate change, told the first ministers an increase of two degrees in average temperatures globally could mean that Canada would see a change of about three to four degrees.
Bourque said climate change will be felt differently in Canada. Warmer summers could mean more forest fires, like those Western Canada experienced last summer. Parts of Canada could also see more droughts and deadly heat waves, he told the gathering.
The presentation, available on Environment Canada's website, summarizes the key science behind climate change.
"Warming over the 20th century is unequivocal and largely due to human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels," Bourque said.
He told the group the effects of climate change will persist for centuries, because greenhouse gases are long-lived and the oceans are warming.
Canada warming at twice the global rate, scientists say
Canada's rate of warming is about twice the global rate, according to a climate change briefing presented to the country's premiers on Monday.
For the first time in nearly seven years, federal, provincial and territorial leaders gathered together in Ottawa with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Their meeting comes a week before the start of the UN climate change conference in Paris, known as COP21.
Alain Bourque, the executive director at Ouranos, a consortium on regional climatology and adaptation to climate change, told the first ministers an increase of two degrees in average temperatures globally could mean that Canada would see a change of about three to four degrees.
Bourque said climate change will be felt differently in Canada. Warmer summers could mean more forest fires, like those Western Canada experienced last summer. Parts of Canada could also see more droughts and deadly heat waves, he told the gathering.
The presentation, available on Environment Canada's website, summarizes the key science behind climate change.
"Warming over the 20th century is unequivocal and largely due to human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels," Bourque said.
He told the group the effects of climate change will persist for centuries, because greenhouse gases are long-lived and the oceans are warming.
Canada warming at twice the global rate, scientists say
