A strong El Nino and climate change will mean warmer temperatures for this upcoming winter, especially in Western Canada, Environment Canada analysts warned in a press conference on Friday afternoon.
鈥淐anada has warmed substantially during the winter over recent decades, especially in the north,鈥 said Nathan Gillett, a research scientist with Environment Canada. 鈥淢ost of this warming has been caused by human-induced climate change.鈥
El Nino conditions for this winter will also contribute to the warmer than usual holiday season, especially in Western Canada, Gillett added. The pattern, also known as 鈥淟ittle Boy鈥 in Spanish, is caused by unusually warm water over the Pacific Ocean and can affect weather across North and South America, particularly in the winter months.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
A Weather Network report from Thursday echoed Environment Canada鈥檚 analysis, warning of a warmer winter weather.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an El Nino unlike anything we鈥檝e quite seen before. And that means there could be a few surprises in store this year for Canadians,鈥 Chris Scott, chief meteorologist at The Weather Network, told The Canadian Press.
Environment Canada data analyzed by the Star in November found that, on average, over the past three decades, 海角社区官网has warmed by 0.8 degrees Celsius. The average winter day in January is 3.7 degrees warmer than it was thirty years ago.
鈥淲hile warm winter temperatures might seem like a good thing, warming in winter can have negative impacts on Canada,鈥 Gillett said. 鈥淭hrough survival of invasive species, 鈥 through making it harder to travel on ice roads in the north, and for reducing snowpack which can have impacts on water resources in the spring and summer.鈥
When predicting snowfall for areas near the Great Lakes, Gerald Cheng, an Environment Canada meteorologist, said, 鈥渨e really have to be careful because often times we get lake effect snow and those snow amounts can be really, really huge.鈥
鈥淲hen we talk about what we could see for the rest of the winter season, winter is still very young,鈥 Cheng said. 鈥淪o, there鈥檚 still a lot that could happen.鈥
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