Saskatchewan is home to one of the most variable climates in North America. Our province can see temperatures spanning from - 40 C to + 40 C over the course of the seasons.
This makes it more difficult to pinpoint the impacts of climate change in the province, as extreme weather is inherent to our climate.
However, there have been clear signals of a changing climate.
Saskatchewan’s average temperature has already increased about two degrees Celsius from 1948 to 2014.
A record wildfire season in 2015 brought on the displacement of 13,000 people from the northern regions of the province. The fires caused the loss of 1.8 million hectares of forest.
Regina saw its driest July in 130 years in 2017 with only 1.8 millimetres of precipitation. Meanwhile, northern parts of the province - like Buffalo Narrows - saw double the average amount of precipitation.
There was extreme flooding in the province in both 2011 and 2014. Both years had floods that were characterized as 'one-in-100-years floods.'
Saskatchewan has 11 different ecoregions within the province. Each is characterized by different plant and species ecosystems.
These ecoregions are all impacted differently by climate change.
Each ecosystem and the species inhabiting it exist within a niche of favourable conditions. When the climate changes in the surrounding ecoregion, it brings stress and disturbance to the various ecosystems within that region.
Unique natural ecosystems, such as grasslands, have difficulty adapting to new climate conditions, making them vulnerable to collapse.
It is predicted that the boreal forest regions will be most impacted by climate change, specifically the southern fringes.
Source: Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan.
Sources
Adam, Betty Ann. Forest fires, drought hit Saskatchewan in 2015. Saskatoon Star Phoenix. December 2015.
Climenhaga, Christy. Regina experiences driest July in 130 years. CBC Saskatchewan. August 2017.
Prebble, P., Henry, D., Hidlebaugh, M., & Wardell, W. Building an Environmentally Sustainable Future for Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan's Role in Global Climate Change and the Path to Sustainability. Regina: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. 2015.
Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan. "Chapter 4: Environment - Climate Change". 2017 Report Volume 1. Report from the Provincial Auditor to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. June 2017.
Johnston, M. et. al. Vulnerability of Canada’s Tree Species to Climate Change And Management Options for Adaptation: An Overview for Policy Makers and Practitioners. Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. 2009.
Sauchyn, David. Climate change and impacts on terrestrial ecosystems of the Northern Plains: Course notes. Geography 831 Unit 6.2, University of Regina, 2016.
Sauchyn, David. Climate Change and Prairie Agriculture: Course notes. Geography 831 Unit 6.3, University of Regina, 2016.
Sauchyn, David, Harry Diaz & Suren Kulshreshtha. The New Normal: The Canadian Prairies in Changing Climate. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre, 2012.