This section explores a variety of topics relating to climate, with a focus on the relationship between water, weather and climate in Alberta. Climate conditions, including changing climate conditions because of global climate change, influence:
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Our changing climate and its effect on our shared water resources is an increasingly popular topic of discussion in government, academia, businesses and households. Conversations about climate can be heavily science based, and may frequently be accompanied by an array of terms that are critical to understanding climate issues and their solutions.
The main story for Alberta is that variability is a permanent feature of climate, however climate change is likely to increase the range of weather conditions we experience. This means the province can expect to see more drastic swings between warm and cold, wet and dry, and calm and wild weather. It also means we can expect to see temperatures, precipitation and weather conditions that have been extremely rare historically, or not been seen at all in Alberta.
Learn more about climate change and Alberta’s water.
Although the Earth’s (and Alberta’s) climate has changed drastically over the last 4.5 billion years, the focus of this timeline is on the Holocene, which started when the Cordilleran and Laurentide Ice Sheets started melting and retreating from Alberta and North America around 11,000 years ago. Using paleoclimatic records from the Holocene helps us understand how a different global climate influenced regional hydrology and ecology of the landscape we see today.
Learn more about a history of climate in Alberta.
When recovering from extreme weather events, you may not always know where to turn. Sometimes there can seem to be an overwhelming number of resources to consult, while in other cases there can appear to be very few.
Learn more about recovering from extreme weather.
Explore climate change versus weather, and the impact of climate change on river basins in Alberta. Detail on the Athabasca, Bow River, Oldman, and Red Deer River Basins will provide examples on how the effects of climate change are already being seen in these basins.
Learn more about Climate Change, River Systems, and Water Users
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