Alberta Climate Records
http://albertaclimaterecords.com/#
Excellent website from the University of Lethbridge that visually shows the changing climate in Alberta.
About
The Alberta Climate Records website was developed by Christine Clark, Assistant Professor of New Media, and Dr. Stefan W. Kienzle, Professor of Hydrology and GIS, both at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta. The visualizations feature a dataset of over 500 million weather data between 1951 and 2017 for 6,834 locations across Alberta.
Key Messages
39 temperature indices and 16 precipitation indices were calculated for the period 1951 to 2017 for the Province of Alberta, including trend analysis with significance levels.
Results provide a compelling picture of overall warming and changes of weather extremes. It could be confirmed that Alberta's climate is warming stronger than the global average.
Annual average temperatures have increased by 1 - 2.5°C in the South, and by 2 - over 3°C in the North
Winters are showing the strongest warming, with 4 - 5°C in the South and 6 - 7°C in the North.
Summers are showing the weakest warming, ranging from about 0.5 - 1.5°C.
Generally, and with few exceptions, the number of extremely cold days, when the minimum temperature falls below -20°C, has about halved across Alberta since the 1950s.
Fluctuations between warm and cold weather is strongly increasing, indicated by the mostly doubling to four-folding of the number of heatwaves, while the number of cold spells has doubled to four-folded in most of Alberta.
With the exception of regions with high elevations, snowfall is being replaced by rainfall (because of shorter winters).
The growing season has lengthened by between 2 and 5 weeks per year.
In southern and central Alberta, average annual precipitation will slightly increase the future. However, the fluctuation between dry and wet years will increase, resulting in increased risk of floods and droughts.
The increased precipitation will mostly be balanced by much increased annual potential evapotranspiration by 100 - 300mm, resulting in decreased soil moisture.
Freeze-thaw days are increasing strongly in central and northern Alberta, resulting in increased weathering/stress on infrastructure (concrete, potholes)
Energy requirements for heating have decreased by about 10 - 15%, but the energy requirements for cooling are increasing in SE Alberta.
The trends reported here are likely to continue and accelerate, thus providing an indication of what we expect in the near future.
Historical temperature records are no longer a true indicator for the future, and society must adapt to the new conditions.
http://albertaclimaterecords.com/#
Excellent website from the University of Lethbridge that visually shows the changing climate in Alberta.
About
The Alberta Climate Records website was developed by Christine Clark, Assistant Professor of New Media, and Dr. Stefan W. Kienzle, Professor of Hydrology and GIS, both at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta. The visualizations feature a dataset of over 500 million weather data between 1951 and 2017 for 6,834 locations across Alberta.
Key Messages
39 temperature indices and 16 precipitation indices were calculated for the period 1951 to 2017 for the Province of Alberta, including trend analysis with significance levels.
Results provide a compelling picture of overall warming and changes of weather extremes. It could be confirmed that Alberta's climate is warming stronger than the global average.
Annual average temperatures have increased by 1 - 2.5°C in the South, and by 2 - over 3°C in the North
Winters are showing the strongest warming, with 4 - 5°C in the South and 6 - 7°C in the North.
Summers are showing the weakest warming, ranging from about 0.5 - 1.5°C.
Generally, and with few exceptions, the number of extremely cold days, when the minimum temperature falls below -20°C, has about halved across Alberta since the 1950s.
Fluctuations between warm and cold weather is strongly increasing, indicated by the mostly doubling to four-folding of the number of heatwaves, while the number of cold spells has doubled to four-folded in most of Alberta.
With the exception of regions with high elevations, snowfall is being replaced by rainfall (because of shorter winters).
The growing season has lengthened by between 2 and 5 weeks per year.
In southern and central Alberta, average annual precipitation will slightly increase the future. However, the fluctuation between dry and wet years will increase, resulting in increased risk of floods and droughts.
The increased precipitation will mostly be balanced by much increased annual potential evapotranspiration by 100 - 300mm, resulting in decreased soil moisture.
Freeze-thaw days are increasing strongly in central and northern Alberta, resulting in increased weathering/stress on infrastructure (concrete, potholes)
Energy requirements for heating have decreased by about 10 - 15%, but the energy requirements for cooling are increasing in SE Alberta.
The trends reported here are likely to continue and accelerate, thus providing an indication of what we expect in the near future.
Historical temperature records are no longer a true indicator for the future, and society must adapt to the new conditions.
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