#ClimateFacts series: #ClimateChange #Science #Flooding

Climate Facts: Sharing science and hope

In 2014 the Canadian government released a report titled Canada In a Changing Climate: Sector Perspectives on Impacts and Adaptation. The report details the effects climate change will have on all sectors including water and transportation infrastructure. Findings show a trend in precipitation and melting sea ice, causing more intense rainstorms and flooding. With all of the flooding in Gatineau, the Ottawa Valley and other parts of Ontario, it is hard to deny that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Ottawa University climate scientist Paul Beckwith recently informed CBC that climate change has a large part to play in the recent flooding. "We've changed the chemistry of the atmosphere and the oceans with our greenhouse gases, so we're seeing the consequences of this now," he told CBC. "It's only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak."

The Canada In a Changing Climate report details the future projected trend in these heavy rainfall and flooding incident. According to CTV parts of Ontario and Quebec are seeing record breaking rainfall. Although climate change is inevitable, if we drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions we can slow the process and secure a liveable planet for future generations.

“The climate is changing – in Canada and throughout the world. Globally, international assessments continue to identify rising air and ocean temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, shrinking glaciers, declining snow cover and sea ice extent, rising sea level and changes in extreme events (IPCC, 2013). While rates of change vary from one indicator to another, the directions of change are consistent with climate warming, and climate models project that many of the observed trends will continue over the coming decades and beyond. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs; mitigation) is necessary to lessen the magnitude and rate of climate change, but additional impacts are unavoidable, even with aggressive global mitigation efforts, due to inertia in the climate system,” the report states. CLICK HERE to view the full report!