It could .Mild fall with fewer storms could end with abrupt wintry switch: Weather Network
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Jordan Omstead
Published Sep 10, 2025 • 4 minute read
The dramatic start to Canada’s fall weather will give way to mild temperatures in the middle of the season, the Weather Network’s seasonal forecast suggests, but not before a possibly abrupt transition into early winter.
Record-breaking heat in British Columbia and early shots of cold weather in Central and Eastern Canada have already provided some “dramatic contrast” this month, said the network’s senior meteorologist Doug Gillham.
From mid-September through October, most of Canada is expected to “hit the pause button” on those temperature extremes, he said. Warmer-than-normal temperatures are expected to dominate with fewer storms through the heart of the season.
“It just means that in the temperature roller-coaster that’s normal with the season, that the milder periods will outweigh the periods of cooler weather,” said Gillham.
“That’ll give most Canadians some great stretches of weather to get outside and enjoy our fall foliage and enjoy outdoor activities.”
Those mild temperatures are expected to give way to a more active and changeable conditions in November, typical of late fall. Storms will be expected to bring precipitation levels up to near normal for most of Canada, according to The Weather Network’s seasonal forecast for the months of September, October and November.
Some areas could wind up a bit wetter than normal, primarily Northern Canada, the B.C. coast and a swath of northeastern Ontario through to central Quebec and Labrador, the forecast said.
“So, kind of a wild start, (then) we hit the pause button, get some mild quieter weather in the middle before we have a more typical finish to the season,” Gillham said.
The near-normal precipitation forecast will likely come as welcome news to parched parts of the northern Prairies where drought conditions have persisted through the summer, said Gillham.
Yet, the “biggest question mark” on the season’s precipitation forecast may be Atlantic Canada, Gillham said. Most of the region has been exceptionally dry and the forecast is calling for fewer fall storms there too.
“The wild card there though is the tropics,” said Gillham.
The second half of hurricane season could bring more activity in late September and early October, Gillham said. It looks like Florida will be the primary target and cooler waters in the North Atlantic Ocean compared to recent years could help weaken storms as they approach the Canadian coast, he said.
“But again, we’re not going to let our guard down in Atlantic Canada. We know it only takes one system to have a significant impact on the region,” he said.
After a chilly start to September, Ontario and Quebec are expected to see some warmer-than-normal temperatures before storm activity picks up again in November, the forecast suggests.
A similar story is shaping up in the Prairies. Shots of cold weather may interrupt otherwise extended periods of pleasant fall weather, the forecast says, but a flip to a colder and active pattern in November will set up a strong start to winter across the region, the forecast suggests.
Wildfire smoke will still be a concern for a few more weeks in Western Canada until the rainy season gets underway. While temperatures will start to drop off over the next couple of weeks, it will still be warmer than normal through the end of September and into early October, and any rain between now and then will likely be insufficient to significantly bring down the fire danger, Gillham said.
Meanwhile, the recent B.C. heat will give way to near-normal temperatures in that province as the season progresses, the forecast says. A typical number of fall storms and rainy days are in the forecast, but the coast could end up with above-normal precipitation because of the warm waters along the northern Pacific coast, Gillham said.
“I wouldn’t classify it as more stormy than normal but the storms that come have a higher risk to bring excessive rain,” he said.
“Hopefully we can avoid the flooding and just get the beneficial rain and alpine snow.”
Those warm waters in the northern Pacific Ocean are helping to push north the jet stream, the band of high-altitude winds circling the globe and acting as a boundary between cold arctic air and lower latitudes. The more northern jet stream position is part of what’s informing the forecast of a quieter and warmer heart of the fall season, Gillham said.
But “we can’t hold off the season forever,” Gillham said, and as the jet stream gradually shifts south, so too will the storm track.
“That’s why we expect more of an active November. More shots of arctic air will be showing up,” said Gillham.
The forecast is calling for near normal precipitation across most of Yukon and the Northwest Territories, with above-normal precipitation for much of Nunavut, Gillham said. Most of Northern Canada will see above-normal temperatures for the season, he said.
Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, has also shifted what meteorologists consider normal across Canada. The forecasts of above- or below-normal temperatures and precipitation are based on average conditions over roughly the past 30 years.
Yet, autumn average temperatures have increased by 2.4 degrees since 1948 across Canada, federal data suggests.
Mild fall with fewer storms could end with abrupt wintry switch: Weather Network
The dramatic start to Canada's fall weather will give way to mild temperatures in the middle of the seasontorontosun.com
It's Climate Change I tell'ya!! IT'S CLIMATE CHANGE!!
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Drought and heat frightening farmers
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Hina Alam
Published Sep 13, 2025 • 4 minute read
Greg MacKenzie, owner of MacKenzie Produce in Stratford, P.E.I., poses with pumpkins at his farm in this undated handout photo.
Greg MacKenzie, owner of MacKenzie Produce in Stratford, P.E.I., poses with pumpkins at his farm in this undated handout photo. Photo by Handout - Greg MacKenzie /THE CANADIAN PRESS
FREDERICTON — The pumpkin patches on a number of Canadian farms are starting to look a bit frightening across the country, but not in a way that makes them ready for Halloween.
“It’s sure been a spooky season,” said Greg MacKenzie, the owner of Mackenzie Produce in Stratford, P.E.I.
He said his own farm has a reduced yield of pumpkins this year. A number of vines have died off and the jumbo-sized orange fruit does not weigh as much as it should, he said.
Most of them might be too small to harvest this year, he added, which could cut into how much he is able to export to the United States.
“Normally we count on September rains to kind of save us,” MacKenzie said. “If we don’t see something in the next couple weeks, it’s going to be pretty hard to make it up.”
MacKenzie isn’t alone. Across Canada, some farmers have shared similar stories with The Canadian Press, explaining that drought and extreme heat are cutting into the size and supply of pumpkins that are usually carved into jack-o’-lanterns for Halloween or frozen and canned for food.
“We’re watching very closely every week just to see how things are progressing,” Mackenzie said “It’s a fine line of, you know, treading water at this point, but with no water to tread.”
There were few regions spared from this season’s punishing drought.
The Canadian Drought Monitor for August said about 71 per cent of the country was classified as abnormally dry or moderate to extreme aridity, including 70 per cent of Canada’s farmland.
The unusual weather patterns could be a troubling sign of more problems in the future.
In a recent assessment of the latest scientific research, the Canadian Climate Institute notes that global warming is increasing the risk and severity of droughts in parts of the country that are already struggling to cope with water shortages.
Citing recent data from Statistics Canada, the institute also says droughts were a significant factor in driving a surge in crop insurance payments to farmers in recent years, as the payouts rose from $890 million in 2018 to $4.9 billion in 2024.
The severity of the drought in central Alberta has turned most of the grass and greenery a muddy shade of brown, Mike Williams of Ponoka, Alta., said.
He explained he began watering the parched soil on his farm to get it ready in May, a few weeks before he planted a crop of pumpkins and squash.
“I’ve been hauling water,” he said. “I hauled almost 300,000 litres of water … since around May.”
While last year was mostly a writeoff, he said he is “feeling better” about the crop this year with some of the pumpkins weighing between 30 and 40 pounds.
Roy Phillips, owner of the Phillips’ Family Farm, in northwest London, who grows pumpkins, gourds and squash, said the season has delivered a mixed bag of weather, with rain in the first few months, followed by six weeks of dry weather. “Oh, it’s kind of weird, but it’s been a crazy season all year,” he said.
Because Phillips grows his crop on clay soil rather than sandy land, he said his farm retains water better than most others, which has helped his pumpkins.
“It’s not my best crop, but some stuff is really good,” he said. “The pumpkins are very good quality.”
He said he grows a variety of crops, including different types of squash and pumpkins, with a variety of colours and some have turned out well. But he also noted that the mixed weather patterns have reduced the number and size of his pumpkins.
Donna Warner of Warner Ranch and Pumpkin Farm in Niagara Falls, Ont., became emotional as she spoke about how difficult the season has been this year with heat and drought affecting her crop.
In the 30 years that Warner has been a pumpkin farmer, she said this year has been the worst ever. She said that the plants weren’t producing enough female flowers, even after they were irrigated.
“The plants were heat stressed,” she said. “Without female flowers, you don’t get a pumpkin… A plant won’t produce a female flower unless the conditions are right.”
While the quality is good, Warner said the yield is down about 70 per cent and the pumpkins are smaller. Her farm doesn’t have jumbo pumpkins this year.
She said she was out in the field on Wednesday afternoon and she “felt like throwing up” when she looked around.
“It’s so much money and so much work.”
Danny Dill, owner of Howard Dill Enterprises, in Windsor, N.S., said the high temperatures started up in June and didn’t let up all through.
“It’s been terrible. I mean, the worst,” he said. “We didn’t even really have any water to irrigate. We’ve been in an oven since the first of June.”
And it’s not just pumpkins that are affected but other crops too, including squash, he said. People are buying up squash in large quantities to freeze and store for the winter, he added.
Dill said he is waiting a few days to see if there will be any rain so the pumpkins can perhaps grow. But he’s not holding out hope.
“Honestly, you know, the last 10 years, I’ve never seen such dramatic shifts in the weather from one year to another,” he said. “Two years ago, we were flooded out. We just went 360 degrees from one extreme into the other. There is no normal growing season, or if there is, we may get one every maybe six years. Maybe.”
He paused.
Mother Nature has messed with the jack-o’-lanterns this year and they are more “sketchy” than spooky, Dill said with a chuckle. “Like Casper the Friendly Ghost.”
Then he riffed on the popular song from the ‘Ghostbusters’ movie: “There’s something strange in the pumpkin fields. Who you gonna call?”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Hina Alam
Published Sep 13, 2025 • 4 minute read
Greg MacKenzie, owner of MacKenzie Produce in Stratford, P.E.I., poses with pumpkins at his farm in this undated handout photo.
Greg MacKenzie, owner of MacKenzie Produce in Stratford, P.E.I., poses with pumpkins at his farm in this undated handout photo. Photo by Handout - Greg MacKenzie /THE CANADIAN PRESS
FREDERICTON — The pumpkin patches on a number of Canadian farms are starting to look a bit frightening across the country, but not in a way that makes them ready for Halloween.
“It’s sure been a spooky season,” said Greg MacKenzie, the owner of Mackenzie Produce in Stratford, P.E.I.
He said his own farm has a reduced yield of pumpkins this year. A number of vines have died off and the jumbo-sized orange fruit does not weigh as much as it should, he said.
Most of them might be too small to harvest this year, he added, which could cut into how much he is able to export to the United States.
“Normally we count on September rains to kind of save us,” MacKenzie said. “If we don’t see something in the next couple weeks, it’s going to be pretty hard to make it up.”
MacKenzie isn’t alone. Across Canada, some farmers have shared similar stories with The Canadian Press, explaining that drought and extreme heat are cutting into the size and supply of pumpkins that are usually carved into jack-o’-lanterns for Halloween or frozen and canned for food.
“We’re watching very closely every week just to see how things are progressing,” Mackenzie said “It’s a fine line of, you know, treading water at this point, but with no water to tread.”
There were few regions spared from this season’s punishing drought.
The Canadian Drought Monitor for August said about 71 per cent of the country was classified as abnormally dry or moderate to extreme aridity, including 70 per cent of Canada’s farmland.
The unusual weather patterns could be a troubling sign of more problems in the future.
In a recent assessment of the latest scientific research, the Canadian Climate Institute notes that global warming is increasing the risk and severity of droughts in parts of the country that are already struggling to cope with water shortages.
Citing recent data from Statistics Canada, the institute also says droughts were a significant factor in driving a surge in crop insurance payments to farmers in recent years, as the payouts rose from $890 million in 2018 to $4.9 billion in 2024.
The severity of the drought in central Alberta has turned most of the grass and greenery a muddy shade of brown, Mike Williams of Ponoka, Alta., said.
He explained he began watering the parched soil on his farm to get it ready in May, a few weeks before he planted a crop of pumpkins and squash.
“I’ve been hauling water,” he said. “I hauled almost 300,000 litres of water … since around May.”
While last year was mostly a writeoff, he said he is “feeling better” about the crop this year with some of the pumpkins weighing between 30 and 40 pounds.
Roy Phillips, owner of the Phillips’ Family Farm, in northwest London, who grows pumpkins, gourds and squash, said the season has delivered a mixed bag of weather, with rain in the first few months, followed by six weeks of dry weather. “Oh, it’s kind of weird, but it’s been a crazy season all year,” he said.
Because Phillips grows his crop on clay soil rather than sandy land, he said his farm retains water better than most others, which has helped his pumpkins.
“It’s not my best crop, but some stuff is really good,” he said. “The pumpkins are very good quality.”
He said he grows a variety of crops, including different types of squash and pumpkins, with a variety of colours and some have turned out well. But he also noted that the mixed weather patterns have reduced the number and size of his pumpkins.
Donna Warner of Warner Ranch and Pumpkin Farm in Niagara Falls, Ont., became emotional as she spoke about how difficult the season has been this year with heat and drought affecting her crop.
In the 30 years that Warner has been a pumpkin farmer, she said this year has been the worst ever. She said that the plants weren’t producing enough female flowers, even after they were irrigated.
“The plants were heat stressed,” she said. “Without female flowers, you don’t get a pumpkin… A plant won’t produce a female flower unless the conditions are right.”
While the quality is good, Warner said the yield is down about 70 per cent and the pumpkins are smaller. Her farm doesn’t have jumbo pumpkins this year.
She said she was out in the field on Wednesday afternoon and she “felt like throwing up” when she looked around.
“It’s so much money and so much work.”
Danny Dill, owner of Howard Dill Enterprises, in Windsor, N.S., said the high temperatures started up in June and didn’t let up all through.
“It’s been terrible. I mean, the worst,” he said. “We didn’t even really have any water to irrigate. We’ve been in an oven since the first of June.”
And it’s not just pumpkins that are affected but other crops too, including squash, he said. People are buying up squash in large quantities to freeze and store for the winter, he added.
Dill said he is waiting a few days to see if there will be any rain so the pumpkins can perhaps grow. But he’s not holding out hope.
“Honestly, you know, the last 10 years, I’ve never seen such dramatic shifts in the weather from one year to another,” he said. “Two years ago, we were flooded out. We just went 360 degrees from one extreme into the other. There is no normal growing season, or if there is, we may get one every maybe six years. Maybe.”
He paused.
Mother Nature has messed with the jack-o’-lanterns this year and they are more “sketchy” than spooky, Dill said with a chuckle. “Like Casper the Friendly Ghost.”
Then he riffed on the popular song from the ‘Ghostbusters’ movie: “There’s something strange in the pumpkin fields. Who you gonna call?”
’There’s something strange in the pumpkin fields.’ Drought and heat frightening farmers
The pumpkin patches on a number of Canadian farms are starting to look a bit frightening across the country.
Drought and heat frightening farmers
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Hina Alam
Published Sep 13, 2025 • 4 minute read
Greg MacKenzie, owner of MacKenzie Produce in Stratford, P.E.I., poses with pumpkins at his farm in this undated handout photo.
Greg MacKenzie, owner of MacKenzie Produce in Stratford, P.E.I., poses with pumpkins at his farm in this undated handout photo. Photo by Handout - Greg MacKenzie /THE CANADIAN PRESS
FREDERICTON — The pumpkin patches on a number of Canadian farms are starting to look a bit frightening across the country, but not in a way that makes them ready for Halloween.
“It’s sure been a spooky season,” said Greg MacKenzie, the owner of Mackenzie Produce in Stratford, P.E.I.
He said his own farm has a reduced yield of pumpkins this year. A number of vines have died off and the jumbo-sized orange fruit does not weigh as much as it should, he said.
Most of them might be too small to harvest this year, he added, which could cut into how much he is able to export to the United States.
“Normally we count on September rains to kind of save us,” MacKenzie said. “If we don’t see something in the next couple weeks, it’s going to be pretty hard to make it up.”
MacKenzie isn’t alone. Across Canada, some farmers have shared similar stories with The Canadian Press, explaining that drought and extreme heat are cutting into the size and supply of pumpkins that are usually carved into jack-o’-lanterns for Halloween or frozen and canned for food.
“We’re watching very closely every week just to see how things are progressing,” Mackenzie said “It’s a fine line of, you know, treading water at this point, but with no water to tread.”
There were few regions spared from this season’s punishing drought.
The Canadian Drought Monitor for August said about 71 per cent of the country was classified as abnormally dry or moderate to extreme aridity, including 70 per cent of Canada’s farmland.
The unusual weather patterns could be a troubling sign of more problems in the future.
In a recent assessment of the latest scientific research, the Canadian Climate Institute notes that global warming is increasing the risk and severity of droughts in parts of the country that are already struggling to cope with water shortages.
Citing recent data from Statistics Canada, the institute also says droughts were a significant factor in driving a surge in crop insurance payments to farmers in recent years, as the payouts rose from $890 million in 2018 to $4.9 billion in 2024.
The severity of the drought in central Alberta has turned most of the grass and greenery a muddy shade of brown, Mike Williams of Ponoka, Alta., said.
He explained he began watering the parched soil on his farm to get it ready in May, a few weeks before he planted a crop of pumpkins and squash.
“I’ve been hauling water,” he said. “I hauled almost 300,000 litres of water … since around May.”
While last year was mostly a writeoff, he said he is “feeling better” about the crop this year with some of the pumpkins weighing between 30 and 40 pounds.
Roy Phillips, owner of the Phillips’ Family Farm, in northwest London, who grows pumpkins, gourds and squash, said the season has delivered a mixed bag of weather, with rain in the first few months, followed by six weeks of dry weather. “Oh, it’s kind of weird, but it’s been a crazy season all year,” he said.
Because Phillips grows his crop on clay soil rather than sandy land, he said his farm retains water better than most others, which has helped his pumpkins.
“It’s not my best crop, but some stuff is really good,” he said. “The pumpkins are very good quality.”
He said he grows a variety of crops, including different types of squash and pumpkins, with a variety of colours and some have turned out well. But he also noted that the mixed weather patterns have reduced the number and size of his pumpkins.
Donna Warner of Warner Ranch and Pumpkin Farm in Niagara Falls, Ont., became emotional as she spoke about how difficult the season has been this year with heat and drought affecting her crop.
In the 30 years that Warner has been a pumpkin farmer, she said this year has been the worst ever. She said that the plants weren’t producing enough female flowers, even after they were irrigated.
“The plants were heat stressed,” she said. “Without female flowers, you don’t get a pumpkin… A plant won’t produce a female flower unless the conditions are right.”
While the quality is good, Warner said the yield is down about 70 per cent and the pumpkins are smaller. Her farm doesn’t have jumbo pumpkins this year.
She said she was out in the field on Wednesday afternoon and she “felt like throwing up” when she looked around.
“It’s so much money and so much work.”
Danny Dill, owner of Howard Dill Enterprises, in Windsor, N.S., said the high temperatures started up in June and didn’t let up all through.
“It’s been terrible. I mean, the worst,” he said. “We didn’t even really have any water to irrigate. We’ve been in an oven since the first of June.”
And it’s not just pumpkins that are affected but other crops too, including squash, he said. People are buying up squash in large quantities to freeze and store for the winter, he added.
Dill said he is waiting a few days to see if there will be any rain so the pumpkins can perhaps grow. But he’s not holding out hope.
“Honestly, you know, the last 10 years, I’ve never seen such dramatic shifts in the weather from one year to another,” he said. “Two years ago, we were flooded out. We just went 360 degrees from one extreme into the other. There is no normal growing season, or if there is, we may get one every maybe six years. Maybe.”
He paused.
Mother Nature has messed with the jack-o’-lanterns this year and they are more “sketchy” than spooky, Dill said with a chuckle. “Like Casper the Friendly Ghost.”
Then he riffed on the popular song from the ‘Ghostbusters’ movie: “There’s something strange in the pumpkin fields. Who you gonna call?”
’There’s something strange in the pumpkin fields.’ Drought and heat frightening farmers
The pumpkin patches on a number of Canadian farms are starting to look a bit frightening across the country.
Spain sweltered under hottest summer on record
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Sep 16, 2025 • 1 minute read
MADRID — Spain said Tuesday that this summer was the hottest on record for the southern European nation, which like the entire Mediterranean region is being hard hit by climate change.
Spain’s national weather service said that the country had an average temperature of 24.2 C (75.5 F) between June 1 and Aug. 31. That is the highest temperature since the service started keeping records in 1961. The previous record was 24.1 C from the summer of 2022.
This summer was also 2.1 degrees Celsius (3.7 F) hotter than the national average from 1991-2020.
The highest single-day temperature of 45.8 C (119.3 F) was recorded in Jerez de la Frontera, in southern Spain, on Aug. 17 during a heat wave.
The Mediterranean region is heating up 20% faster than the global average, according to the United Nations.
The scorching summer months also saw Spain’s countryside burn.
A record 382,000 hectares (944,000 acres) burned in a spate of wildfires, surpassing the previous high of 306,000 hectares (756,000 acres) burned in 2022, according to data compiled by the European Union’s European Forest Fire Information System.
Spain’s weather service added that the country also had a particularly dry summer, especially in the areas of the northwest where wildfires did most of their damage.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Sep 16, 2025 • 1 minute read
MADRID — Spain said Tuesday that this summer was the hottest on record for the southern European nation, which like the entire Mediterranean region is being hard hit by climate change.
Spain’s national weather service said that the country had an average temperature of 24.2 C (75.5 F) between June 1 and Aug. 31. That is the highest temperature since the service started keeping records in 1961. The previous record was 24.1 C from the summer of 2022.
This summer was also 2.1 degrees Celsius (3.7 F) hotter than the national average from 1991-2020.
The highest single-day temperature of 45.8 C (119.3 F) was recorded in Jerez de la Frontera, in southern Spain, on Aug. 17 during a heat wave.
The Mediterranean region is heating up 20% faster than the global average, according to the United Nations.
The scorching summer months also saw Spain’s countryside burn.
A record 382,000 hectares (944,000 acres) burned in a spate of wildfires, surpassing the previous high of 306,000 hectares (756,000 acres) burned in 2022, according to data compiled by the European Union’s European Forest Fire Information System.
Spain’s weather service added that the country also had a particularly dry summer, especially in the areas of the northwest where wildfires did most of their damage.
Spain sweltered under hottest summer on record
Spain said Tuesday that this summer was the hottest on record for the southern European nation.
I really find it hard to believe that Spain‘s national weather service only started keeping records in 1961.
State Meteorological Agency - Wikipedia
Francisco Franco.I really find it hard to believe that Spain‘s national weather service only started keeping records in 1961.
View attachment 31106
So it’s 138 years old, but it’s only kept records for less thank 1/2 of that time? So between 1887 & 1961…they didn’t keep records? That’s very….suspicious.State Meteorological Agency - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Ok? Before I just looked him up I knew a tiny bit about him and now I know slightly more than a tiny bit about him.
So? Spain’s national weather service predates his birth by five years & his entire lifespan by better than half a century. I’m assuming they kept records from day one, but I know, ass/u/me, etc…& maybe the records prior to 1961 were lost or for some reason aren’t available? Could be, but…
??? That’s not what’s being said above. Maybe the records prior to 1961 don’t fit some current political narrative? Maybe Spain didn’t keep records for the first 80 years that this institution existed?
That shift from raw weather logs to actual climate records happened around the nineteen sixties. Before then, folks were mostly just scribbling daily highs and lows for farmers or ships. Once computers rolled in, scientists like Hubert Lamb at East Anglia started stitching together decades of data-like US National Weather Service logs since eighteen seventy and Canada's since seventy-one-into long-term averages, say thirty years, to pin down what's normal climate. NOAA formalized their climate division in nineteen sixty-seven, calling those multi-year baselines climate normals. Canada followed suit with Environment Canada around nineteen seventy, defining climate as thirty-year patterns for rainfall or temp shifts. Now, it's all digitized-NASA's GISS pulls global numbers back to eighteen eighty for trends.Ok? Before I just looked him up I knew a tiny bit about him and now I know slightly more than a tiny bit about him.
So? Spain’s national weather service predates his birth by five years & his entire lifespan by better than half a century. I’m assuming they kept records from day one, but I know, ass/u/me, etc…& maybe the records prior to 1961 were lost or for some reason aren’t available? Could be, but…
??? That’s not what’s being said above. Maybe the records prior to 1961 don’t fit some current political narrative? Maybe Spain didn’t keep records for the first 80 years that this institution existed?
More Canadians report being affected by extreme weather after hot summer: Poll
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Nick Murray
Published Sep 24, 2025 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
OTTAWA — A new poll suggests more Canadians say they are being affected by extreme weather following one of the worst wildfire seasons on record.
A Leger poll of 1,500 people conducted online between Sept. 19 and Sept. 21, says 37 per cent of respondents reported being personally affected by extreme weather events. That is up from the 23 per cent who said the same in a June poll, in the early weeks of the fire season.
This year saw wildfires consume nearly 90,000 square kilometres in Canada — an area larger than New Brunswick — making it the second-worst wildfire season on record.
The findings are similar to the number of Canadians who responded to a Leger poll on climate impacts a year ago. At the end of summer 2024, 35 per cent of respondents reported being personally impacted by climate change.
While more Canadians are reporting that extreme weather has affected them, it’s not clear how it’s affecting them in all cases.
Sixty-five per cent of respondents said they’ve been forced to stay indoors because of air quality concerns, a figure unchanged from the June poll.
The number of Canadians reporting emotional stress caused by extreme weather has dropped to 23 per cent from 39 per cent since the June poll. The number reporting cancelled travel plans due to extreme weather dropped to 18 per cent from the 27 per cent reported in the June poll.
Twenty-six per cent of respondents selected either “other” or “none” among the list of impacts cited by the poll — which also includes property damage or evacuations due to wildfires or floods.
“I do wonder whether or not we’re potentially missing an impact option,” said Andrew Enns, executive vice president at Leger.
“Is it an impact if my enjoyment of a summer day is not quite what it would be because of the smoke, right? Like, I didn’t stay indoors, I still went camping, but it’s supposed to be a blue sky day, but it’s not. In that sense, I wonder whether we missed something.”
Enns said the timing of the poll also highlights the cyclical nature of Canadians’ perceptions of climate change — though not necessarily whether people think extreme weather events will happen more frequently in the future.
The new poll reports 66 per cent of respondents said there seem to be more extreme heat events compared to five years ago, up from 55 per cent in June.
But the number of people concerned about hot summers and future heat waves only increased by four percentage points to 66 per cent compared to the June survey, and overall, 58 per cent of respondents said they think extreme weather will occur more often, virtually the same as the 57 per cent who said the same thing in June.
“I think some of those broader opinions with respect to climate change and the severity in Canada are more baked in, and less volatile and less impacted by the seasonality or even a particularly bad summer,” Enns said.
He said there’s “a certain percentage of Canadians” for whom climate change “is something that’s at near the top of their mind or something that they sort of monitor,” while others are “more accepting of whatever Mother Nature throws at us, and are not going to get worked up about it.”
The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Nick Murray
Published Sep 24, 2025 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
OTTAWA — A new poll suggests more Canadians say they are being affected by extreme weather following one of the worst wildfire seasons on record.
A Leger poll of 1,500 people conducted online between Sept. 19 and Sept. 21, says 37 per cent of respondents reported being personally affected by extreme weather events. That is up from the 23 per cent who said the same in a June poll, in the early weeks of the fire season.
This year saw wildfires consume nearly 90,000 square kilometres in Canada — an area larger than New Brunswick — making it the second-worst wildfire season on record.
The findings are similar to the number of Canadians who responded to a Leger poll on climate impacts a year ago. At the end of summer 2024, 35 per cent of respondents reported being personally impacted by climate change.
While more Canadians are reporting that extreme weather has affected them, it’s not clear how it’s affecting them in all cases.
Sixty-five per cent of respondents said they’ve been forced to stay indoors because of air quality concerns, a figure unchanged from the June poll.
The number of Canadians reporting emotional stress caused by extreme weather has dropped to 23 per cent from 39 per cent since the June poll. The number reporting cancelled travel plans due to extreme weather dropped to 18 per cent from the 27 per cent reported in the June poll.
Twenty-six per cent of respondents selected either “other” or “none” among the list of impacts cited by the poll — which also includes property damage or evacuations due to wildfires or floods.
“I do wonder whether or not we’re potentially missing an impact option,” said Andrew Enns, executive vice president at Leger.
“Is it an impact if my enjoyment of a summer day is not quite what it would be because of the smoke, right? Like, I didn’t stay indoors, I still went camping, but it’s supposed to be a blue sky day, but it’s not. In that sense, I wonder whether we missed something.”
Enns said the timing of the poll also highlights the cyclical nature of Canadians’ perceptions of climate change — though not necessarily whether people think extreme weather events will happen more frequently in the future.
The new poll reports 66 per cent of respondents said there seem to be more extreme heat events compared to five years ago, up from 55 per cent in June.
But the number of people concerned about hot summers and future heat waves only increased by four percentage points to 66 per cent compared to the June survey, and overall, 58 per cent of respondents said they think extreme weather will occur more often, virtually the same as the 57 per cent who said the same thing in June.
“I think some of those broader opinions with respect to climate change and the severity in Canada are more baked in, and less volatile and less impacted by the seasonality or even a particularly bad summer,” Enns said.
He said there’s “a certain percentage of Canadians” for whom climate change “is something that’s at near the top of their mind or something that they sort of monitor,” while others are “more accepting of whatever Mother Nature throws at us, and are not going to get worked up about it.”
The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.
More Canadians report being affected by extreme weather after hot summer: Poll
A new poll suggests more Canadians are reporting being affected by extreme weather following one of the worst wildfire seasons on record.
Planetary health check warns risk of 'destabilizing' Earth systems
Author of the article:AFP
AFP
by Kelly MACNAMARA
Published Sep 24, 2025 • 2 minute read
Coral reefs are under pressure from multiple presures including global warming, pollution and ocean acidification.
Coral reefs are under pressure from multiple presures including global warming, pollution and ocean acidification.
Paris (AFP) — Humans are gambling the very stability of Earth’s life support systems, scientists said Wednesday, warning that ocean acidity was yet another key planetary threshold to be breached.
A team of global scientists assessed that seven of nine so-called “planetary boundaries” — processes that regulate Earth’s stability, resilience and ability to sustain life — had now been crossed.
Climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, freshwater depletion, overuse of agricultural fertilizers, and the release of artificial chemicals and plastics into the environment were all already deep in the red.
In their new report, the scientists said all seven were “showing trends of increasing pressure — suggesting further deterioration and destabilization of planetary health in the near future”.
Destructive and polluting activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, are driving these further into risky territory and increasingly interacting with each other.
“We are putting the stability of the entire life support system on Earth at risk,” said Johan Rockstrom, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in a press conference to launch the research.
The concept of planetary boundaries was first coined in 2009 when only global warming, extinction rates, and nitrogen levels had transgressed their limits.
“We are moving even further away from the safe operating space, risking destabilizing our Earth and with an increasing risk growing year by year,” said Levke Caesar, co-lead of Planetary Boundaries Science at PIK.
Many of the causes of deterioration are interlinked, showing both the wide-ranging impact of human activities, but also avenues for action.
The use of fossil fuels is a key example, driving climate change, as well as fuelling plastic pollution and the rise in ocean acidification.
Safety net ‘unravelling’
The world’s seas are estimated to have absorbed roughly 30 percent of the excess carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from the burning of oil, gas and coal.
This alters the pH of the ocean, affecting the ability of organisms like corals, shellfish and some forms of plankton to form shells and skeletons.
Increased ocean acidification since last year’s report was partly due to better data and revised calculations.
Scientists said there was already evidence of shell damage, particularly for marine animals in polar and coastal regions.
“What we see in the data is no longer abstract. It is showing up in the world around us right now,” said Caesar.
One positive in this year’s report is an improvement in global air quality as aerosol emissions fall across the world, despite the continued scourge of severe particulate pollution in some regions.
The final boundary — ozone depletion — remains comfortably within safe bounds, which scientists said shows the success of global cooperation to restrict ozone-depleting pollutants.
Researchers have quantified safe boundaries for these interlocking facets of the Earth system, which feed off and amplify each other.
For climate change, for example, the threshold is linked to the concentration of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
This hovered close to 280 parts per million (ppm) for at least 10,000 years prior to the industrial revolution and researchers suggest the boundary is 350 ppm. Concentrations in 2025 are 423 ppm.
The assessment of the world’s biodiversity and ecosystems is even more perilous.
“Nature’s safety net is unravelling: Extinctions and loss of natural productivity are far above safe levels, and there is no sign of improvement,” the report said.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:AFP
AFP
by Kelly MACNAMARA
Published Sep 24, 2025 • 2 minute read
Coral reefs are under pressure from multiple presures including global warming, pollution and ocean acidification.
Coral reefs are under pressure from multiple presures including global warming, pollution and ocean acidification.
Paris (AFP) — Humans are gambling the very stability of Earth’s life support systems, scientists said Wednesday, warning that ocean acidity was yet another key planetary threshold to be breached.
A team of global scientists assessed that seven of nine so-called “planetary boundaries” — processes that regulate Earth’s stability, resilience and ability to sustain life — had now been crossed.
Climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, freshwater depletion, overuse of agricultural fertilizers, and the release of artificial chemicals and plastics into the environment were all already deep in the red.
In their new report, the scientists said all seven were “showing trends of increasing pressure — suggesting further deterioration and destabilization of planetary health in the near future”.
Destructive and polluting activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, are driving these further into risky territory and increasingly interacting with each other.
“We are putting the stability of the entire life support system on Earth at risk,” said Johan Rockstrom, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in a press conference to launch the research.
The concept of planetary boundaries was first coined in 2009 when only global warming, extinction rates, and nitrogen levels had transgressed their limits.
“We are moving even further away from the safe operating space, risking destabilizing our Earth and with an increasing risk growing year by year,” said Levke Caesar, co-lead of Planetary Boundaries Science at PIK.
Many of the causes of deterioration are interlinked, showing both the wide-ranging impact of human activities, but also avenues for action.
The use of fossil fuels is a key example, driving climate change, as well as fuelling plastic pollution and the rise in ocean acidification.
Safety net ‘unravelling’
The world’s seas are estimated to have absorbed roughly 30 percent of the excess carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from the burning of oil, gas and coal.
This alters the pH of the ocean, affecting the ability of organisms like corals, shellfish and some forms of plankton to form shells and skeletons.
Increased ocean acidification since last year’s report was partly due to better data and revised calculations.
Scientists said there was already evidence of shell damage, particularly for marine animals in polar and coastal regions.
“What we see in the data is no longer abstract. It is showing up in the world around us right now,” said Caesar.
One positive in this year’s report is an improvement in global air quality as aerosol emissions fall across the world, despite the continued scourge of severe particulate pollution in some regions.
The final boundary — ozone depletion — remains comfortably within safe bounds, which scientists said shows the success of global cooperation to restrict ozone-depleting pollutants.
Researchers have quantified safe boundaries for these interlocking facets of the Earth system, which feed off and amplify each other.
For climate change, for example, the threshold is linked to the concentration of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
This hovered close to 280 parts per million (ppm) for at least 10,000 years prior to the industrial revolution and researchers suggest the boundary is 350 ppm. Concentrations in 2025 are 423 ppm.
The assessment of the world’s biodiversity and ecosystems is even more perilous.
“Nature’s safety net is unravelling: Extinctions and loss of natural productivity are far above safe levels, and there is no sign of improvement,” the report said.
Planetary health check warns risk of 'destabilizing' Earth systems
Humans are gambling the very stability of Earth's life support systems, scientists said Wednesday.
Maybe if we we all die ! Oh no . Better yet let the researchers set the example .Planetary health check warns risk of 'destabilizing' Earth systems
Author of the article:AFP
AFP
by Kelly MACNAMARA
Published Sep 24, 2025 • 2 minute read
Coral reefs are under pressure from multiple presures including global warming, pollution and ocean acidification.
Coral reefs are under pressure from multiple presures including global warming, pollution and ocean acidification.
Paris (AFP) — Humans are gambling the very stability of Earth’s life support systems, scientists said Wednesday, warning that ocean acidity was yet another key planetary threshold to be breached.
A team of global scientists assessed that seven of nine so-called “planetary boundaries” — processes that regulate Earth’s stability, resilience and ability to sustain life — had now been crossed.
Climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, freshwater depletion, overuse of agricultural fertilizers, and the release of artificial chemicals and plastics into the environment were all already deep in the red.
In their new report, the scientists said all seven were “showing trends of increasing pressure — suggesting further deterioration and destabilization of planetary health in the near future”.
Destructive and polluting activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, are driving these further into risky territory and increasingly interacting with each other.
“We are putting the stability of the entire life support system on Earth at risk,” said Johan Rockstrom, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in a press conference to launch the research.
The concept of planetary boundaries was first coined in 2009 when only global warming, extinction rates, and nitrogen levels had transgressed their limits.
“We are moving even further away from the safe operating space, risking destabilizing our Earth and with an increasing risk growing year by year,” said Levke Caesar, co-lead of Planetary Boundaries Science at PIK.
Many of the causes of deterioration are interlinked, showing both the wide-ranging impact of human activities, but also avenues for action.
The use of fossil fuels is a key example, driving climate change, as well as fuelling plastic pollution and the rise in ocean acidification.
Safety net ‘unravelling’
The world’s seas are estimated to have absorbed roughly 30 percent of the excess carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from the burning of oil, gas and coal.
This alters the pH of the ocean, affecting the ability of organisms like corals, shellfish and some forms of plankton to form shells and skeletons.
Increased ocean acidification since last year’s report was partly due to better data and revised calculations.
Scientists said there was already evidence of shell damage, particularly for marine animals in polar and coastal regions.
“What we see in the data is no longer abstract. It is showing up in the world around us right now,” said Caesar.
One positive in this year’s report is an improvement in global air quality as aerosol emissions fall across the world, despite the continued scourge of severe particulate pollution in some regions.
The final boundary — ozone depletion — remains comfortably within safe bounds, which scientists said shows the success of global cooperation to restrict ozone-depleting pollutants.
Researchers have quantified safe boundaries for these interlocking facets of the Earth system, which feed off and amplify each other.
For climate change, for example, the threshold is linked to the concentration of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
This hovered close to 280 parts per million (ppm) for at least 10,000 years prior to the industrial revolution and researchers suggest the boundary is 350 ppm. Concentrations in 2025 are 423 ppm.
The assessment of the world’s biodiversity and ecosystems is even more perilous.
“Nature’s safety net is unravelling: Extinctions and loss of natural productivity are far above safe levels, and there is no sign of improvement,” the report said.
Planetary health check warns risk of 'destabilizing' Earth systems
Humans are gambling the very stability of Earth's life support systems, scientists said Wednesday.