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Impacts of Climate Change

There is evidence that the climate is already changing. The last two decades were the warmest decades on record worldwide and the last century was the warmest in 1000 years. Already, impacts of a changing climate are noticeable throughout Canada, especially in the North. Ice is breaking up on most rivers and lakes earlier in the spring and glaciers and polar sea ice are shrinking. Canada’s large size means that changes in climate will vary from region to region.

In the Atlantic region, temperatures are predicted to increase 3-4°C over the next hundred years. However, there is more to climate change than temperature. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Red Bay, Labrador and Placentia, Newfoundland have almost the same average annual temperature but very different climates. In the Atlantic region, winds, precipitation, storm activity and sea ice are all important in determining local conditions and are influenced by global climate changes.

Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and water vapour are "greenhouse gases" that help insulate the Earth and maintain a temperature that can sustain life. The gases allow radiation from the Sun to pass through the atmosphere and heat the Earth. The gases also prevent this heat from escaping back into space. This "greenhouse effect" is natural but scientists believe that human activities have led to an increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHG), upsetting the natural balance and is impacting the global climate.

Activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation have led to a 30 per cent rise in CO2 levels since the Industrial Revolution. Carbon dioxide, as a product of combustion, is by far the most abundant greenhouse gas released by humans. But other gases, such as N2O, have more heat-trapping potential and a longer lifespan in the atmosphere.

• Sea Level Rise
• Coastal Zone Erosion
• Extreme Weather Events
• Health Impacts
• Marine Ecosystem