• winter drought harbinger of potentially dire 2024 wildfire season in b.c.
• a new study says wildfire smoke can leave toxic chemicals on home surfaces for weeks
• records for warmest december set or tied in vancouver and other parts of b.c.
human activities like burning fossil fuels are the main driver of climate change, according to the un’s intergovernmental panel on climate change. this causes heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in earth’s atmosphere, increasing the planet’s surface temperature. the panel, which is made up of scientists from around the world, has warned for decades that wildfires and severe weather, such as b.c.’s deadly heat dome and catastrophic flooding in 2021, would become more frequent and more intense because of the climate emergency. it has issued a “code red” for humanity and warns the window to limit warming to 1.5 c above pre-industrial times is closing.
but it’s not too late. according to nasa scientists, if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, the rise in global temperatures would begin to flatten within a few years. temperatures would then plateau but remain well-elevated for many centuries.
check back here each saturday for more climate and environmental news or sign up for our new climate connected newsletter here.
(source: united nations ipcc, world meteorological organization, unep, nasa, climatedata.ca)
the new centre for wildfire coexistence being established at the university of b.c. looks to have its work cut out for it right out of the gate.
as of dec. 28, the b.c. wildfire service counted 106 wildfires from the record 2023 wildfire season as still burning. most are across the prince george fire-control region, which also remains in drought-stricken conditions.
“zombie fires, we call them, when they go underground and smoulder through the winter,” said lori daniels, ubc professor of forest and conservation sciences, who will lead the new centre. “but it’s shocking how many (there are). i’ve had multiple reports from (research) collaborators about how much is still burning.”
the el niño phenomena that has brought warmer ocean temperatures is to blame, delivering warmer and drier weather across the west that has starved regions of their usual snow and cold.
that suggests the potential for those fires to roar back to life come spring, giving b.c. back-to-back seasons of extreme wildfire.
“looking forward, we have a lot of community outreach and some education plans,” daniels said about the centre’s early work. “that’s one of our areas of expertise.”
—derrick penner
the b.c. government wants to hear from residents about the support they need during a disaster, as the frequency and severity of wildfires and floods are expected to increase because of climate change.
the province plans to update its emergency support services program and is asking those who are interested in sharing their ideas about how to support evacuees to fill out a survey.
the survey will be open until feb. 9 at 4 p.m. at engage.gov.bc.ca.
acting emergency management minister george heyman said last summer was challenging, uncertain and emotional for people, communities and businesses.
“your input is incredibly important and is essential to ensuring our work on improving emergency support services matches the needs of people who require them the most,” heyman said in a news release thursday.
the program provides short-term support to people affected by disasters, including shelter, food, transportation, clothing and incidentals.
—tiffany crawford
data from environment and climate change canada has confirmed what winter sport enthusiasts have known for a while — december was warm in british columbia.
five communities in the province set or equalled temperature records for the month while the warm weather, combined with a lack of rain or snow, has done little to ease ongoing drought concerns.
meteorologist brian proctor said the mean temperature at vancouver international airport last month was 7 c, tying with 1939 as the city’s warmest december on record since data started being collected in 1896.
the mean temperature was 3.4 degrees higher than what is considered normal for the month.
proctor said tuesday that warm weather records for december were also either set or tied in victoria, comox, campbell river and abbotsford.
the month was also very dry, meaning there wasn’t enough rain or snow to ease drought concerns in the province, he said.
—the canadian press
climate activists blocked part of the main highway around amsterdam near the former headquarters of ing bank for hours on saturday to protest its financing of fossil fuels.
dozens of extinction rebellion protesters were detained by police late in the afternoon after ignoring orders to end their blockade. police said the operation to clear the road was peaceful.
activist sebastiaan vannisselroy said the protesters were demonstrating “for the safety for us all. the netherlands is a low-lying country. we’re threatened by ocean rise. so we want to … safeguard the future for all of us.”
amsterdam municipality said in a message on x, formerly twitter, that traffic authorities closed part of the road and diverted traffic “to prevent a life-threatening situation.”
hundreds of activists walked onto the road in the latest road blockade organized by the dutch branch of extinction rebellion. earlier this year, the activist organization repeatedly blocked a highway leading into the hague.
—the associated press
after a messy end to 2023, our federal politicians are bracing for another year that will likely be dominated by an array of domestic issues and international conflicts.
the national post spoke to five political watchers to get their take on what to look out for in the first few months of 2024, and how they think issues might play out throughout the year.
expect more divisions on climate policies and the carbon tax.
even prime minister justin trudeau admits it: pierre poilievre has successfully linked the current affordability crisis to the carbon tax. and the liberals seemed to prove his point when they paused the carbon tax on home heating oil after much pressure from their atlantic caucus, prompting politicians of all stripes to ask for more carve-outs.
“i think that climate is shaping up to be the narrative that captures a lot of other things,” said lori turnbull, professor of political science at dalhousie university.
she noted that liberals have been struggling to communicate their strategy on carbon pricing and other climate policies at a time when canadians are worried about paying for basic necessities. meanwhile, poilievre has been getting a lot of traction with his “axe the tax” slogan and his insistence that government policies are to blame for the cost of everything going up.
—the national post
harmful chemicals from wildfire smoke can linger for a month or more inside a home or business on items such as clothing or cups, say experts.
the good news is that washing everything with everyday household cleaners can remove the chemicals, according to a recent study from portland state university.
the researchers studied highly toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pahs) from wildfire smoke in the home over four months on glass, cotton and in air filters.
what they found was it took 37 days for the chemicals to decrease by 74 per cent for air filters, 81 per cent for cotton and 88 per cent for glass, according to a news release from the university tuesday.
however, when the items were washed, there was a significant decrease in the amount of chemicals, the researchers said.
for example, laundering cotton clothes just one time reduced pahs by 80 per cent while using a commercial glass cleaner on materials like windows and cups reduced pahs between 60 per cent and 70 per cent, according to the university.
—tiffany crawford
the new york times reported this week on a study that shows canada is failing to protect the world’s largest swath of boreal forest, which is crucial to fighting climate change.
the study, led by griffith university in australia, found that since 1976 logging in ontario and quebec has caused the removal of 35.4 million acres of boreal forest, an area roughly the size of new york state, the newspaper reported.
“the canadian government claims to have managed the forest according to the principles of sustainable forest management,” said brendan mackey, the study’s lead author and a professor and director of a climate research group at griffith university in brisbane, australia told the new york times.
“but its notion of sustainability is really tied to maintaining and maximizing wood production and ensuring the regeneration of commercially desirable trees. that has a lot of implications for biodiversity.”
the study, published in the academic journal land, shows that canada allows unsustainable practices that have deeply degraded the forest, according to the report.
—the new york times
alberta wildfire says it saw an average number of wildfires last year, but the area burned across the province set a record.
the province saw a total of 1,088 wildfires that burned about 22,000 square kilometres from march 1 to oct. 31. the five-year average for area burned is 2,262 square kilometres.
melissa story, community relations co-ordinator for the wildfire management branch in alberta forestry and parks, said 2023 was a record-breaking year.
“the number of wildfires that we responded to last year was average … but the number of hectares burned tells a very different story,” she said in an interview.
more than 60 per cent of wildfires were caused by people, while four per cent are still being investigated.
story said the other 35 per cent of the wildfires were caused by lightning.
—the canadian press
on a warm summer afternoon, tina taniguchi was on her hands and knees scraping dirt off an oblong depression in the ground. thick brown hair peeked out from her coconut leaf hat. splotches of mud stuck to her t-shirt and speckled her smiling face.
taniguchi smiles a lot when she’s working in her corner of the hanapepe salt patch on the west side of kauai — a terracotta plot of land about the size of a football field — dappled with elliptical pools of brine, crystallizing in clay beds.
“it’s hard work, but for me it’s also play,” taniguchi said, adding with a laugh, “i play in the mud all day.”
taniguchi’s family is one of 22 who over generations have dedicated themselves to the cultural and spiritual practice of “paakai,” the hawaiian word for salt. this is one of the last remaining salt patches in hawaii. its sacred salt can be traded or given away, but must never be sold. hawaiians use it in cooking, healing, rituals and as protection.
over the past decade, this tract has been under constant threat due to development, pollution from a neighboring airfield, sand erosion from vehicle traffic and littering by visitors to the adjacent beach.
in addition, climate change threatens to obliterate the practice with rising sea levels and modified weather patterns. this year, the salt-making season lasted barely three months from july to september because of above-average rainfall. during a good year, work typically begins in may and ends in november.
—the associated press
current warming is extremely large & fast
— peter d carter (@pcarterclimate) january 5, 2024
most climate change graphs minimize the appearance of today's extremely large and fast changes.
these are ipcc ar6 wg1#climatechange #globalwarming pic.twitter.com/4yf8i8bwwg
in mozambique, unep is working with local communities to revive once-thriving mangrove forests - nature’s defenders against climate change.
— un biodiversity (@unbiodiversity) january 6, 2024
discover how these salt-loving trees help build a climate-resilient futurehttps://t.co/nvijvjxktn
via @unep pic.twitter.com/nyptoldxpr
b.c. flood: read all our coverage on the fraser valley and beyond
frequently asked questions about climate change: nasa
what is climate change? a really simple guide from the bbc
climate change made b.c. heat wave 150 times more likely, study concludes
b.c.’s heat wave: intense weather event is linked to climate crisis, say scientists
expert: climate change expected to bring longer wildfire seasons and more area burned
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