Coastal BC has a totally different summer weather forecast than the rest of Canada
Coastal BC is the only place in Canada where normal or slightly cooler than normal summer temperatures are expected this year, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
That’s in contrast to the rest of the country, where hotter and drier than normal conditions are predicted, which could lead to worsening wildfire conditions.
Environment and Climate Change Canada
“Purple and blue over Coastal BC as well as the Yukon are suggesting near normal or below normal average temperatures for the season,” Jennifer Smith, national warning preparedness meteorologist with ECCC, said.
“It doesn’t mean that those parts of Canada won’t experience warm spells, but when evaluating the season on a whole, the net temperature might not be above what is climatologically normal.”
Coastal BC is one of the only places in Canada where normal or wetter than normal summer conditions are expected (Environment and Climate Change Canada)
Officials with ECCC gave an update on their seasonal weather outlook Tuesday, where they shared details on the country’s warming climate and how it contributes to costly extreme weather events.
They highlighted the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire as the most expensive environmental emergency to date, and pointed to the May 2023 heatwaves in Alberta as another example of an extreme weather event made worse by human climate damage.
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Since 1948, Canada’s summer temperatures have been increasing, and officials have no doubt human contributions are playing a large role.
Environment and Climate Change Canada
New wildfire smoke monitoring and event analysis rolling out
ECCC announced it will release an analysis on human contribution to heatwaves starting this summer. The event analysis will look at how likely a heat event would have been in the pre-industrial climate, and estimate how much human activity contributed to that event happening.
The federal agency is also rolling out an improved smoke map for wildfire season, including Firework, a program that will predict wildfire smoke movement for the next 72 hours across the country.
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