CBC News: Severity and sweep of Prairie droughts could spiral as climate changes
CBC News is highlighting the risks posed by climate change in a new series with Meteorologist Christy Climenhaga that will explore weather and climate change in Canada’s Prairie provinces.
The article draws on the expertise of several respected researchers including Barrie Bonsal (a research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada), John Pomeroy (uSask professor and Canada Research Chair in water resources and climate change), and Trevor Hadwen (agroclimate specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada).
These researchers are all in agreement, climate change will have a huge impact on water supply and management. Despite an overall predicted increase in precipitation in the Prairies, the duration and severity of droughts are also predicted to increase…
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“So many of us remember the 2001-2002 drought and the 1988-1989 drought as being the recent extreme droughts. The one we just had surpasses those by far,” Hadwen says.
”Last summer, almost the whole Prairie region at one point was down below 40 per cent of soil moisture,” Pomeroy says. “And in the growing season, almost everywhere was subject to drought, even up to the Peace River district in Alberta.”
Not every year however will be a drought year, as droughts are cyclical, Bonsal says. “Those cycles, you know, they’re still going to continue,” he said. “But the nature and character of those cycles has a big potential to change with climate warming.”