Weather

Why do so many doubt the science on climate change?

Despite the voluminous evidence and near unanimity of climate experts, large numbers of North Americans remain sceptical about global warming. Studies suggest that one factor is an entrenchment of views along political lines

by HENRY HENGEVELD

I quite enjoyed reading Terry Daynard’s opinion column in the April issue of Better Farming. In particular, I was gratified by his strong endorsement of the credibility of scientists involved in writing the voluminous climate science assessment report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007. This endorsement was both appropriate and timely. 

Aachoo! – why your hay fever is getting worse

The prevalence of pollen allergies in North America has been increasing
over the past few decades – particularly in Ontario

by HENRY HENGEVELD

For most of us, the burst of blossoms that arrives with the onset of spring is a welcome relief from the doldrums of winter.

However, for about 7.5 million Canadians, it also marks the start of a season of misery. They begin to sneeze and wheeze, and often end up with puffy, weepy and itchy eyes. In some cases it can also trigger or significantly exasperate problems with asthma. For these sufferers, the blossoms indicate that allergic rhinitis or “hay fever” season has begun.

This year could be a humdinger of a hurricane season


by HENRY HENGEVELD

On Sept. 21, Hurricane Igor swept its way across the eastern shores of Newfoundland, dumping up to 238 millimetres, or more than nine inches, of rain in its wake. Winds as high as 160 kilometres an hour toppled trees, bringing down power lines and leaving much of the Bonavista and Burin peninsulas without power. Many communities were also cut off from the rest of the province because of washed out roads and collapsed bridges.

La Niña portends a cool winter and spring for Ontario


Projected weather patterns for the coming seasons appear to reflect the intensifying 
but complex influence of this Pacific Ocean phenomenon. But don’t bet the farm on it!


by HENRY HENGEVELD


It’s been unusually warm across the Great Lakes basin during the first eight months of 2010 – the ninth warmest winter, the warmest spring and the fourth warmest summer on record. Now, according to the prognoses recently issued by both American and Canadian weather services, 
the Ontario climate pendulum is about to swing back to below normal temperatures. 

In 2010, the evidence for global warming just keeps piling up


The first six months of the year were warmer than any previous January-June 
period on record. Add to that a new report confirming that global surface temperatures during the past decade between 2000 and 2009 were the warmest of the past century


by HENRY HENGEVELD

It looks like 2010 will become another year for the climate record books – locally, nationally and globally.

Weather: When volcanic eruptions change the climate

While the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in April is unlikely to have a long-term impact, volcanologists warn that the story may not yet be ended

by HENRY HENGEVELD

This past April, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in southern Iceland began to erupt, ending a slumber of almost two centuries. Over subsequent weeks, it released an estimated 100,000 tons of ash into the lower atmosphere. The ash plume rose to elevations as high as 9,000 metres, refracting incoming sunlight and providing Europeans with some unusually spectacular sunsets. 

Weather: A winter that beat all records

Not only was it the warmest since national record-keeping began, it also set a new record for low precipitation levels. The downside is that soils may dry out early and we may be in for a warm summer

by HENRY HENGEVELD

This past winter was, once again, quite an unusual one, at least across Canada. One aspect that made it so was the “heat.” From the U.S. border to the high Arctic, and from the Pacific to the Atlantic shorelines, most of the country experienced temperatures well above normal.

Weather: Climate change science is under attack – once again!

Skeptics have taken advantage of the recent revelations about climate change research to confuse the public about global warming – and lazy journalism has only contributed to the problem

by HENRY HENGEVELD

The latest series of challenges to the credibility of climate system research and reporting of trends in past climates began last November, a few days before the beginning of the international climate change negotiations in Copenhagen.