Climate Change

The record-setting wildfires across western Canada including British Columbia did not just destroy millions of hectares of forest but also contributed to the on-going shrinkage of glaciers across western Canada. (Pete Laing/Courtesy of BC Wildfire Service) (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Metro Vancouver)

B.C.’s wildfires helped feed glacier meltdown across western Canada: report

World Meteorological Organization report also confirms 2023 as the hottest year on record

The record-setting wildfires across western Canada including British Columbia did not just destroy millions of hectares of forest but also contributed to the on-going shrinkage of glaciers across western Canada. (Pete Laing/Courtesy of BC Wildfire Service) (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Metro Vancouver)
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions. A windsurfer cuts through the waves along Lake Ontario overlooking the City of Toronto skyline on a warm winter day in Mississauga, Ont., Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects in Canada

Winter was 5.2 C warmer than average, and 1.1 C warmer than previous record set in 2009-2010

The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions. A windsurfer cuts through the waves along Lake Ontario overlooking the City of Toronto skyline on a warm winter day in Mississauga, Ont., Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Agriculture Minister Pam Alexis listens as Werner Stump, vice-president of the BC Cattlemen’s Association speaks Monday (March 18) in Delta, where Alexis joined Premier David Eby in announcing $80 million for a program to help ranchers and farmers improve access to water. (Screencap)

B.C. farmers get up to $80 million to tap into improved water supplies

But low snowpack douses optimism about 2024 with water scarcity challenging ranchers and farmers

Agriculture Minister Pam Alexis listens as Werner Stump, vice-president of the BC Cattlemen’s Association speaks Monday (March 18) in Delta, where Alexis joined Premier David Eby in announcing $80 million for a program to help ranchers and farmers improve access to water. (Screencap)
Louis Couillard and Ashley Torres are seen with their daughter, Catalina, at the Greenpeace offices in Montreal, Thursday, March 14, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

2019 Fridays for Future strikes: Inspiring a wave of climate leaders in Canada

On March 15, 2019, hundreds of thousands of young people around the world took part in a global climate strike

Louis Couillard and Ashley Torres are seen with their daughter, Catalina, at the Greenpeace offices in Montreal, Thursday, March 14, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
B.C. fruit and grape growers will receive up to $70 million in provincial money to re-plant crops damaged by January’s cold snap. (Black Press Media file photo)

B.C. fruit and grape growers get $70M to replant damaged crops

Premier David Eby announced the money Wednesday via stream to wine industry conference in Penticton

B.C. fruit and grape growers will receive up to $70 million in provincial money to re-plant crops damaged by January’s cold snap. (Black Press Media file photo)
British Columbia grain farmer Malcolm Odermatt, shown in a handout photo, says all he can do is pray for rain this spring after repeated droughts sabotaged his harvest last year. Odermatt, who is also the president of the BC Grain Growers Association, has been working with his father since 2012 to farm about 2,000 acres of land in the Peace region of B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

Bitter Harvest: Tech helping B.C. grain farmers confront weather woes

‘Old MacDonald went broke’: agriculture looking to science to overcome water woes

British Columbia grain farmer Malcolm Odermatt, shown in a handout photo, says all he can do is pray for rain this spring after repeated droughts sabotaged his harvest last year. Odermatt, who is also the president of the BC Grain Growers Association, has been working with his father since 2012 to farm about 2,000 acres of land in the Peace region of B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO
Jens Wieting, senior forest and climate campaigner with the Sierra Club of BC, says B.C. budget could help B.C. make progress on the environment, but he also expressed concern about B.C.’s on-going support for liquified natural gas. (Black Press Media file photo)

Watchdogs critical of B.C.’s continued support of LNG ‘carbon bomb’

Environmental groups concerned LNG policies outweigh progress in other areas

Jens Wieting, senior forest and climate campaigner with the Sierra Club of BC, says B.C. budget could help B.C. make progress on the environment, but he also expressed concern about B.C.’s on-going support for liquified natural gas. (Black Press Media file photo)
Jennifer Deol, the co-owner of There and Back Again Farms, stands near the farm’s peach orchard in Kelowna, B.C., on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. B.C. farmers are predicting at least a 90 per cent loss of this summer’s harvest of fruit including peaches, apricots and nectarines. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens

Bitter Harvest: B.C.’s stone fruit farms pivot after deep-freeze devastation

Early signs point to a dismal year for peaches, apricots or nectarines as farmers look for support

Jennifer Deol, the co-owner of There and Back Again Farms, stands near the farm’s peach orchard in Kelowna, B.C., on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. B.C. farmers are predicting at least a 90 per cent loss of this summer’s harvest of fruit including peaches, apricots and nectarines. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens
Extreme cold near the start of this year in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan has led to a damage bill that the Insurance Bureau of Canada says is more than $180 million. An ice fog hangs over neighbourhoods in Calgary on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

$180M in insurance claims follow Western Canada’s January cold snap

Insurance Bureau says 70% of claims were for personal property, damage caused by frozen burst pipes

Extreme cold near the start of this year in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan has led to a damage bill that the Insurance Bureau of Canada says is more than $180 million. An ice fog hangs over neighbourhoods in Calgary on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
A truck driver makes his way through the flooded President-Kennedy road (R173), near Beauceville, Que. on Nov. 1, 2019.

Quebec lender ending new mortgages in flood zones ‘just the beginning’

Flooding one of many issues facing cities as they try to adapt to climate change

A truck driver makes his way through the flooded President-Kennedy road (R173), near Beauceville, Que. on Nov. 1, 2019.
Johnny Tai prunes one of his succulents in Richmond, B.C., on March 3, 2024. The 80-year-old Richmond, B.C., gardener still has hasn’t recovered from the “crime scene” he found in two greenhouses one morning in mid-January — thousands of dead and dying succulents and other plants, thanks to a sudden cold snap and snowfall. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Hearts wither for B.C. gardeners digging out from devastating cold snap

January plunge on top of other severe climate fluctuations wreaks havoc on growers

Johnny Tai prunes one of his succulents in Richmond, B.C., on March 3, 2024. The 80-year-old Richmond, B.C., gardener still has hasn’t recovered from the “crime scene” he found in two greenhouses one morning in mid-January — thousands of dead and dying succulents and other plants, thanks to a sudden cold snap and snowfall. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
People walk on the Lonsdale Quay pier in North Vancouver, B.C., as the downtown Vancouver skyline is shrouded in smoke on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. Vancouver Coastal Health’s chief medical health officer says every community within her region is at risk of harm because of the changing climate. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. communities need to prep for heat dome-level events annually: doctors

Vancouver Coastal Health report says ‘colossal harms’ coming if they don’t

People walk on the Lonsdale Quay pier in North Vancouver, B.C., as the downtown Vancouver skyline is shrouded in smoke on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. Vancouver Coastal Health’s chief medical health officer says every community within her region is at risk of harm because of the changing climate. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Many cities across B.C. recorded the hottest days of their histories during the ‘heat dome’ heatwave that blanketed much of the Pacific Northwest at the end June of 2021. (Black Press Media file photo)

B.C. medical health officer says climate change putting everyone at risk

Top Vancouver Coastal Health official makes 17 recommendations to address her concerns

Many cities across B.C. recorded the hottest days of their histories during the ‘heat dome’ heatwave that blanketed much of the Pacific Northwest at the end June of 2021. (Black Press Media file photo)
A man repairs an old boat along the dried-up Aral Sea, in the village of Tastubek near the Aralsk city, Kazakhstan, Monday, July 2, 2023. The demise of the once-mighty sea has affected thousands of residents and their livelihoods for decades. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Climate change swallowing the once-mighty Aral Sea

Once one of the world’s largest inland bodies of water, Central Asia lake now 1/4 its previous size

A man repairs an old boat along the dried-up Aral Sea, in the village of Tastubek near the Aralsk city, Kazakhstan, Monday, July 2, 2023. The demise of the once-mighty sea has affected thousands of residents and their livelihoods for decades. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
This incomplete map of B.C. shows snowpack levels across the province. They are down 39 per cent below seasonal for the entire province with regional variations. (Screencap)

B.C.’s snowpack is 39% below normal levels

Snow levels for Feb. 1 are up, but River Forecast Centre warns of elevated spring drought risks

This incomplete map of B.C. shows snowpack levels across the province. They are down 39 per cent below seasonal for the entire province with regional variations. (Screencap)
The province temporarily restricting water use for industry and forage crops in the Koksilah River watershed last summer due to drought continues. (Citizen file photo)

B.C. preparing farmers for coming summer’s potential drought

Workshops detailing tactics and supports taking place in 30 communities through February and March

The province temporarily restricting water use for industry and forage crops in the Koksilah River watershed last summer due to drought continues. (Citizen file photo)
More than 12,000 Canadians have applied for federal grants to help offset the cost of replacing oil furnaces with electric heat pumps. A heat pump is installed at a house in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Michael Probst

Heat pump grant? B.C. is barely interested according to federal numbers

84,000 B.C. households use furnace oil, 327 have applied for a heat pump grant

More than 12,000 Canadians have applied for federal grants to help offset the cost of replacing oil furnaces with electric heat pumps. A heat pump is installed at a house in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Michael Probst
This 2023 wildfire near Entiako Park, located approximately 150 km southeast of Houston and 150 km southwest of Vanderhoof, directly east of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, helped to pump 102 megatonnes of carbon from provincial wildfires into the atmosphere. The figure comes from the European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring System. (Pete Laing/Courtesy of BC Wildfire Service)

2023 B.C. wildfires pumped 102 megatonnes of carbon into atmosphere: EU

B.C.’s total greenhouse emissions in 2021 were 40 megatonnes less than 2023 wildfires on their own

This 2023 wildfire near Entiako Park, located approximately 150 km southeast of Houston and 150 km southwest of Vanderhoof, directly east of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, helped to pump 102 megatonnes of carbon from provincial wildfires into the atmosphere. The figure comes from the European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring System. (Pete Laing/Courtesy of BC Wildfire Service)
Canadian attitudes toward climate change are about as consistent as Canadian weather, a new poll suggests. An ice fog hangs over steaming neighbourhoods during a cold snap in Calgary on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Warm December an uneasy pleasure for many Canadians: survey

Leger finds majority enjoyed weather even as it worried them, blame climate change

Canadian attitudes toward climate change are about as consistent as Canadian weather, a new poll suggests. An ice fog hangs over steaming neighbourhoods during a cold snap in Calgary on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
A skier walks down a patchy ski slope at Whistler, B.C., on Friday, December 29, 2023. Whistler has been experiencing warm weather and little snow this season, contributing to poor snow sports conditions during peak season. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Canada’s December warmth made twice as likely by climate change

‘I can go out on these warmer winter days and be both really happy and really creeped out’

A skier walks down a patchy ski slope at Whistler, B.C., on Friday, December 29, 2023. Whistler has been experiencing warm weather and little snow this season, contributing to poor snow sports conditions during peak season. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns