Climate Change
This page covers the following topics:
What is Climate Change?
Climate change is a shift in the average weather that a given region experiences. This could include measurable changes in temperature, wind patterns, precipitation and storm events over time. The earth's natural climate is always changing, but the climate change we see today is different because of both the rate of change and the magnitude. Human activity - the burning of fossil fuels and the associated release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as well as large scale changes in land use- are the primary anthropogenic causes of climate change.
Greenhouse Gases
Burning oil, coal and gas to generate electricity releases greenhouse gases/emissions into our atmosphere at a pace and volume never before experienced. These greenhouse gases are primarily water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone and nitrous oxide. Located in the atmosphere that wraps around the Earth, they trap the heat of the sun, preventing radiation from dissipating into space. This causes a "greenhouse" effect. Without a greenhouse effect, the average temperature on earth would be -18 degrees celsius, instead of the current average of 15 degrees celsius. Life would be impossible.
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Global Warming
The concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by 31% over the past 200 years. We have cleared more land for human use in the past 100 years than in all of human history. This has caused higher than average greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. As a result more heat is trapped in the Earth's climate system, leading to global warming. The average global temperature has increased by 0.5 degrees celsius in the past 100 years. Globally, the last 11 of 12 years have been the warmest on record, and it is now widely accepted that climate change is more than just a temporary trend. Temperature increases over the next 100 years are expected to significantly exceed any such change over the past 10,000 years.
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Impacts
The global effects of climate change may include:
- Extreme weather events that will increase our vulnerability to malnourishment, disease and political insecurity.
- Sea level rise that may displace people inhabiting coastal communities such as British Columbia.
- Reduced sea ice coverage in the Arctic that will limit the hunting ground of polar bears. This could remove the top predator from the food chain and disrupt the ecosystem.
- Hotter, more humid summers that could increase suffering among people with heart disease, respiratory conditions, the elderly, the very young, the poor and the homeless.
- Loss of permafrost in the north that may result in terrain slumping, drainage of small lakes and increased sediment loads in rivers, which would threaten northern wetlands and deltas. Canada's wetlands are home to important wildlife species. They act as a purification system for contaminants, a storage reservoir and protection from shoreline erosion.
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The Impact of Climate Change in Delta
The effects of climate change here in Delta may include:
- Increased precipitation
- More extreme weather events
- Increased vulnerability to flooding
- Overall loss of biodiversity as invasive plants and animals replace native species
- Threats to Delta's dike system and salinization of valuable farm land from rising sea levels
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Related Links
For more information visit the following web sites:
- The Meteorological Service of Canada
- Environment Canada
- The Fraser Basin Council
- BC Hydro
- Terasen Gas
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
For more information, email the Office of Climate Action & Environment.
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