Canada warns that some effects of climate change are already irreversible

Canada’s federal government has warned that some effects of global warming are already irreversible after the country warmed by more than two degrees Celsius over the past 75 years. The changes have contributed to melting glaciers and rising sea levels.

The second Canada’s Changing Climate Report, prepared over three years by more than 100 experts from federal agencies, universities and scientific institutions, says Canada has warmed almost twice as fast as the global average since 1970. The Canadian Arctic has warmed nearly three times faster. Northern Canada recorded a 2.6-degree increase from 1948, while annual precipitation rose 9.7% nationwide from 1949 and 18.9% in the north.

The report says human influence is the only explanation consistent with the full range of observed changes. These include more extreme heatwaves, longer wildfire seasons, shorter snow and ice seasons, warmer oceans and rising sea levels.

Even if the world reaches net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2075, Canada’s average temperature at the end of the century would still be about 3.5 degrees above preindustrial levels, the scientists project. Under current climate policies worldwide, the increase would be about five degrees.

Glaciers in western Canada are expected to lose more than 75% of their mass by 2100. Droughts, flash floods and weather conditions favorable to wildfires are also projected to become more frequent and severe.

The report updates the first federal assessment, published in 2019. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government said it remains committed to net-zero emissions by 2050 and has allocated more than 2.1 billion Canadian dollars to implement the National Adaptation Strategy.