Canadians fear climate change, spring flooding, smouldering wildfires
Posted March 22, 2024 4:25 pm.
Last Updated March 23, 2024 9:29 am.
After last Summer’s devastating wildfire season, and a warmer and dryer than average El Nino winter, is this spring snowfall hitting enough to make a difference?
“Especially for the forests and the farmers. And I’m a gardener myself, so I think we need more moisture in our soil,” said one Edmontonian CityNews spoke to.
Climate change came out on top overall for Canadian’s top disaster fears according to a new survey by First Onsite. It was closely followed by wildfire smoke and wildfires. These concerns are highest in British Columbia (82 per cent) and Alberta (76 per cent).
“I think the drought is very concerning. The wildfire, the air quality, I don’t know what comes first. It’s all very concerning,” said one Edmontonain.
“You see the devastation when you go through parts of the mountains where it happened, and you think about the wildfire. And then I have a son who is a firefighter so you don’t want to see them put into positions like that.”
WATCH: New poll reveals what Canadians are most concerned about
A meteorologist says while snow does provide some moisture, it isn’t enough on its own, saying rain is needed.
“We’re getting a little bit of a precipitation signal of potentially normal or above normal through the months of March, April and May,” explained Alysa Pedersen, a warning preparedness meteorologist for Alberta with Environment and Climate Change Canada
Following a devastating wildfire season and a dry winter, Pedersen says wildfire and wildfire smoke concerns are valid.
“Since about 2018, we’ve actually seen an increase in the number of smoke days. Because we’re coming off such a bad year last year in Western Canada, absolutely it’s on everybody’s mind,” said Pedersen.
While provinces like Alberta are at risk of extreme drought again this year, British Columbia and Quebec are expressing the most fear of severe rains and flooding.
Yet despite these extreme weather concerns, 64 per cent of Canadians are worried about their level of preparedness in the event of a disaster.
“Spring and summer is kind of the hazard season when it comes to weather and significant impacts so it’s always important for people to remember to keep their eyes to the sky and get prepared ahead of the season for what some of these more serious hazards will be,” said Pedersen.
Meanwhile, on National Water Day, the North Saskatchewan River is getting a new layer of protection with the provincial and federal government coming together to designate the over 700km of the river that flows through Alberta a Canadian Heritage River.
