Canadian Climate Change Quiz
Quizmaster - Jeff Norman (a Professional Engineer from Toronto)
At the COP-6 negotiations on-going at The Hague, Netherlands, Environment Canada is representing Canada's position on Global Warming and `Climate Change'. Environment Canada has identified climate change as one of the biggest challenges facing Canadians.
"Over the past several years, Canada has experienced a number of weather-related disasters, including the major floods in the Saguenay and the Red River Valley, and the ice storm that crippled eastern Ontario and much of Quebec. Unusual weather, such as severe heat waves in the central and eastern parts of the country, also seems to happen more frequently."
"When we experience unusual weather, some people start asking if Canada's weather is changing. Is this what is meant by "climate change"? While it isn't possible to say with certainty that a specific storm or heat wave is "caused" by climate change, we do know that the Earth is getting warmer - meaning that the average annual global temperature is rising. In fact, the 1980s and '90s have been the warmest decades since people began keeping records. This warming trend will cause changes in other elements of the Earth's climate system, in turn influencing our weather patterns."
This quote is from the Environment Canada web site at:
http://www.msc.ec.gc.ca/cd/climate/factsheets/sheet2_e.cfm
How knowledgeable are you of Canadian weather extremes? Test your knowledge by taking the Canadian Climate Change Quiz.
The Canadian Climate Change Quiz
1. In what year did a freezing rainstorm in
Eastern Ontario result in ice
"as thick as a person's wrist" covering
wires and trees?
2. In what year did Toronto receive its worst
single-day snowfall, when
a severe winter storm dumped 48 cm of snow on Toronto's
downtown?
3. In what year did Canada experience its deadliest tornado?
4. In what year did Canada experience its longest heat wave?
5. In what year did Canada record its hottest day?
6. In what year did Victoria British Columbia receive its record snowfall?
7. In what year did the Red River overflow
its banks resulting in
the greatest flood disaster in Canadian history?
8. In what year did the west record its single
driest year when many areas
in the drought-stricken Prairies received only
45% of their normal precipitation?
9. In what year did heavy rains in Quebec kill
31 people swallowing up 35 homes,
a bus and several cars?
10. In what year did Canada record its coldest wind chill temperatures? (-91°C)
Take a moment to consider how you would respond to these questions. No it is not one of those trick tests where the answers are all the same, but when you look at the facts, it will be hard to deny that there is a trend.
How did you do? Let's check the answers, which are derived from Environment Canada's "Top Weather Events of the 20th Century", web page at: http://www.ec.gc.ca/press/vote20_f_e.htm
The Answers
1. In what year did a freezing rainstorm in Eastern Ontario result in ice "as thick as a person's wrist" covering wires and trees?
Some Canadians consider the 1998 ice storm as unprecedented proof that Global Climate Change is a reality. If you guessed 1998 give yourself half a point. It was in1942 that an ice storm resulted in ice "as thick as a person's wrist" on telephone wires, trees and railway tracks. Unprecedented indeed! What was actually unprecedented was the impact upon the electricity supply needed to run all of our modern conveniences and the resulting media hype associated with the 1998 ice storm. In 1942, Canadians had more important things on their minds, World War II.
2. In what year did Toronto receive its worst single-day snowfall, when a severe winter storm dumped 48 cm of snow on Toronto's downtown?
Do you remember when the mayor of Toronto called in the Armed Forces to cope with the unprecedented snow fall in 1999? If you guessed 1999 for this question, your answer is incorrect. In 1944, 48 cm of snow fell during a single day. The big news then was that factories producing war munitions were forced to close for a short period of time. Snow in Canada, what a story.
3. In what year did Canada experience its deadliest tornado?
This year Canadians were shocked to hear that a deadly tornado had ripped through Pine Lake, Alberta on July 15. Surely this tragedy indicated an ominous trend. If you guessed 2000 for this question, your answer is incorrect. On June 30, 1912, a tornado tore through Regina killing 40 people and injuring 300. Is this unusual? In 1922, multiple tornadoes hit southern Manitoba, in 1946 and again in 1974 tornadoes hit Windsor, in 1985 a tornado hit Barrie and in 1987 a tornado hit Edmonton killing 27 people. The Canadian record is full of violent weather.
4. In what year did Canada experience its longest heat wave?
Environment Canada tells us that the last two decades have been the hottest on record but you may be forgiven for thinking the dust bowl years of the 1930's were warmer. During 1936, a heat wave lasting twelve days hit Manitoba and Ontario claiming 1,180 lives. Recorded temperatures exceeded 44°C.
5. In what year did Canada record its hottest day?
This record was set a year later in 1937 when Midale and Yellowgrass, Saskatchewan recorded temperatures of 45°C.
6. In what year did Victoria British Columbia receive its record snowfall?
Victoria British Columbia is located in Canada's only sub tropical climate zone. Outdoor plants at the Butchard Gardens near Victoria cannot grow unprotected anywhere else in Canada. Surely this area is sensitive to climate change. Fortunately the worst snow storm in Victoria occurred in 1916, while the world, as some people would say, was recovering from the little ice age.
7. In what year did the Red River overflow its banks resulting in the greatest flood disaster in Canadian history?
This one is easy. In 1997 the Red River flooded rising 12m "above winter levels", as Environment Canada puts it. If you guessed 1997 give yourself half a point. In 1950 the Red River flooded cresting at "9.2m above normal near Winnipeg" as Environment Canada puts it. Both floods caused approximately $500 million dollars damage in dollars of the year.
8. In what year did the west record its single
driest year when many areas
in the drought-stricken Prairies received only
45% of their normal precipitation?
Surely this must have happened during the years of the Dust Bowl? That assumption however would be incorrect. The driest single year on record was 1961, however Environment Canada's criteria for the "driest year" is somewhat confusing:
"The duration, severity and size of the area affectively (sic) made this drought the worst on record. Losses in wheat production alone were $668 million, 30% more than the previous worst year, 1936."
Do they mean the driest year on record was "measured" using an insurance claim proxy indicator? How many farmers could afford insurance in 1936 during the depression compared to 1961?
9. In what year did heavy rains in Quebec kill 31 people swallowing up 35 homes, a bus and several cars?
Do you remember the television footage of the Saguenay flood in 1996? The televised images of cars and houses being swept away were quite dramatic. If you guessed 1996, you are incorrect. Ten people perished during the Saguenay flood. It was the St. Jean-Vianney flood in 1971 that opened a sink hole in a residential neighborhood resulting in the tragic loss of life.
10. In what year did Canada record its coldest wind chill temperatures? (-91°C)
This one is quite difficult. Would you find it surprising to learn that this record was measured in 1989 at Pelly Bay in what was then known as the North West Territories? You may find this surprising because Environment Canada tells us that, "In fact, the 1980s and '90s have been the warmest decades since people began keeping records."
Can you believe that there has never been colder weather in the Canadian Arctic? Wait a minute, what was that qualifying statement, "since people began keeping records"?
You can actually go onto the Internet to the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies web site and view the official temperature record for Pelly Bay. The weather station at Pelly Bay entered the official record in 1958 and left the official record after 1989 just when it started setting records for cold temperatures. Most baby boomers have lasted longer than that but none have gotten so cold before expiring.
It is rather hard to believe that temperatures in the Canadian Arctic have only been measured for thirty years and in fact they haven't. Several weather stations have records going back over 100 years, Hay River for example goes back to 1894. These records are all available at the NASA GISS web site as well. You can actually download the information and plot it.
You may be surprised to find that temperatures in the Canadian Arctic increased dramatically between 1900 and 1940 and then stayed relatively constant. This conclusion is based upon the long-term weather stations where the temperature record actually spans the middle of the 20th century.
You may also be surprised to learn that the number of weather stations recording the climate of the over 3 million square kilometres of the Canadian Arctic peaked during the 1960's and then declined to single digits during the 1990's.
Given that Global Warming and Climate Change are considered to be the biggest challenges facing humanity, and Environment Canada claims that the Canadian Arctic will be one of the regions hardest hit it is surprising that the weather stations that would be able to tell us if something was actually happening have been closed. Was this fiscal responsibility?
Environment Canada is certainly interested in implementing programs to mitigate the perceived threat of global climate change, and they want you to be interested also. And that may be the only trend identified by this whole exercise.
When you look at the facts, it's hard to deny that there is a trend.
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