Canadians have experienced numerous scorching heat waves this summer, and government analysis shows that climate change has made unseasonal temperatures much more likely.
Climatologists studied several hot spells in June and July. During these months, temperatures in Alberta rose above 30 degrees Celsius, nearly nine degrees above the seasonal average. The Northwest Territories recorded a peak temperature of 28.4 degrees Celsius, 9.2 degrees more than usual. Nunavut recorded an unseasonal high of 22.1 degrees Celsius, where temperatures average below 15 degrees Celsius.
In these and several other cases, “human influence on climate has increased the likelihood of these events by at least two to ten times,” according to a press release from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The scientists analyzed the heat waves using the Canadian government's new Rapid Extreme Weather Event Attribution system, which is still in the pilot phase. It compares today's weather, which is influenced by current greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, with the weather and atmosphere of the 19th century, before the Industrial Revolution.
As the planet warms due to human-caused emissions, heat waves become more severe, wildfires become more intense, droughts become longer, cold months become milder, glaciers melt, and permafrost retreats.
The Earth has broken several climate records this year, but perhaps most notably, climate scientists made headlines around the world when they announced that July 21 was the hottest day on record.
Carlo Buontempo, director of the European Copernicus Climate Service, issued a dire warning at the time.
“We are now in uncharted territory,” he said.
Further details to follow.