Canada has seen the impact of climate change more than other countries. From 1948 to 2012, the annual average surface air temperature in Canada increased by approximately 1.7°C, roughly twice the global increase.¹

This is largely due to the significant increase in temperature in Canada’s North, which has been roughly 2.5 times greater than the global average temperature increase since the late 1940s.^1,2

Climate change has contributed to the increased frequency, duration and intensity of climate and weather-related events and disasters in Canada.¹

Recent wildfires, ice storms, floods, hurricanes, and other disasters have cost Canadians billions of dollars and too many lives.³ The table shows a portion of these extreme weather related events and disasters that happened between 1997 and 2013 in Canada and some of their consequences.

¹Government of Canada. Canada’s Sixth National Report on Climate Change (2014). http://www.ec.gc.ca/cc/0BA54AAB-6E8E-4D48-B42C-DCBB09B27D10/6458_EC_ID1180-MainBook_high_min%20FINAL-s.pdf-accessed July 24, 2017.
²IPCC (2007). Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Pachauri, R.K. and A. Reisinger (eds.)]. Geneva, Switzerland. https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_full_report.pdf-accessed July 24, 2017.
³Lemmen, D.S., Warren, F.J., Lacroix, J., and Bush, E., editors (2008): From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007: Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON, 448 p. https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/earthsciences/pdf/assess/2007/pdf/full-complet_e.pdf-accessed July 24, 2017.