Extreme weather across Canada linked to climate change, expert says

Ninety-two-year-old Jean Heckman is pictured taking her daily walk on a plowed sidewalk in her winter coat. (Paul Hollingsworth / CTV)

Canadians have faced harsh weather characterized by cold weather and large snowfalls this winter with more expected in coming days. An expert says the recent storms are linked to climate change.

“When you see extreme events occurring, it is fascinating,” says Jim Abraham, a retired Environment Canada meteorologist who studies the weather daily by sifting through scientific data. He says recent the recent storms impacting parts of Canada are directly linked to climate change.

“We are a degree-and-a-half warmer around the globe and the globe now holds 10 per cent more moisture on average,” Abraham says. This means there could be more precipitation across all seasons, he says.

Ninety-two-year-old Jean Heckman has been able to take her daily walk on slippery sidewalks so far but with more snow in the forecast, things are getting treacherous.

“It’s nice to get out of the house but I don’t want to fall,” Heckman says. “You have to put up with it.”

Abraham says the Arctic is warming more than two times faster than the equator which affects the jet stream and causes extreme weather.

“When you’re in a cold and damp pattern it tends to last longer or the risk is it lasts longer,” he says.