Canada is at risk of another “catastrophic” wildfire season, the federal government warns, as El Niño conditions are expected to bring warmer-than-normal spring and summer temperatures across much of the country. There is.
Last year, Canada experienced its worst fire season on record, with more than 6,600 fires burning 15 million hectares (37 million acres), roughly seven times the annual average. Eight firefighters died and 230,000 people were evacuated from their homes.
This winter, the country experienced higher-than-normal temperatures and widespread drought, setting the stage for another harsh summer.
“Temperature trends are very concerning. As the country continues to get hotter and drier, wildfire season is expected to start earlier, end later and potentially become more explosive. ” Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan said at a press conference.
Federal ministers have warned that climate change is causing more extreme weather events such as bushfires, droughts and heatwaves.
“Wildfires occur all the time across Canada. What’s new is their frequency and intensity,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. “The science is clear. The root cause of this is climate change.”
The City of Ottawa is providing C$256 million (US$187.15 million) over five years, matched by each province and territory in the country, to fund new facilities and regional It also pledges to train an additional 1,000 base wildfire firefighters.
Last year, Canada sent 5,500 international firefighters and 2,135 troops from countries including South Africa and Spain to fight the fires.
Severe weather events such as wildfires caused more than C$3.1 billion in insured losses in 2023, according to a government analysis.
In a separate update, the British Columbia government said snowpack (accumulation of seasonally melting snow) in the province’s far west is on average at its lowest level since 1970, up from 88% of normal at the same time last year. It warned that this was 63% of normal.
“Droughts and wildfires usually go hand in hand,” said Jonathan Boyd, a hydrologist with the state’s River Prediction Center. “It’s not going to be a great season, but it still depends on the weather conditions.” [this spring]”
