B.C.'s year of extreme weather a sign of things to come, expert says
As B.C. braces for a third atmospheric river in a week, one expert says these weather events could become the norm.
Dr. Rachel White, an associate professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of British Columbia says as the temperature of our climate increases, so does the likelihood of more devastating natural disasters.
“Climate change is obviously playing a role here, as we warm up the atmosphere and the ocean, we will see more moisture in the atmosphere,” White says.
According to Environment Canada, between 50 to 100 millimetres of rain is predicted to fall Tuesday and into Wednesday, with winds gusting up to 60 km/h also expected.
The trio of atmospheric rivers comes just two weeks after the major storm that triggered the devastating floods and mudslides across the province's southern and interior regions.
“By moving each atmospheric river a little bit stronger, we are making these types of flooding events more likely,” White says.
“These really intense precipitation events are predicted to get stronger and more intense.”
White says there’s also a clear connection between the summer heat dome, the devastating wildfire season, and fatal mudslides earlier this month.
“There’s research showing that with the damage to the vegetation and impacts to the soil, essentially made the environment more vulnerable to landslides."
"Both of these events are things that we're likely to see more of under climate change, they're not separate, all of this is interconnected," she adds.
A year of unprecedented weather, that White warns could become the precedent, if more action against climate change isn’t taken.
“That’s one of the scariest things about climate change, is all of these impacts that we perhaps don’t necessarily think about until we see them happen, and then it’s made clear just how devastating this can be.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.