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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released the first volume of its fourth assessment report entitled Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. The report assesses the current scientific knowledge of the natural and human drivers of climate change, observed changes in climate, the ability of science to attribute changes to different causes, and projections for future climate change.
Recently Added
In This Section
- National Inventory Report, 1990-2005: Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in Canada [2007-11-30]
- Scientific Consensus on Climate Change [2007-10-15]
- Canada's New Government Proud of Genuine Progress in Nairobi [2006-11-17]
- A Summary of Trends: Canada's 2005 Greenhouse Gas Inventory [2007-06-01]
- From Yukon to Labrador: Understanding Northern Ecosystems [2006-06-01]
Climate Change
Climate change is a shift in long-term average weather patterns, which can include changes in temperature and in precipitation amounts. The international scientific community agrees that there has been a significant change in global climate in recent years, particularly in the polar areas, due largely to the burning of fossil fuels for transportation and industrial processes. These activities emit greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere.
Canada's climate is changing too: temperatures are rising, particularly in the Arctic, where permafrost is thawing and the ocean's ice cover is shrinking. Even greater changes are expected in the future, including a continued rise in temperatures, shifts in rainfall patterns, and increases in certain types of hazardous weather, such as heavy spring rains and heat waves. As a cold northern country, Canada will be one of the most greatly affected countries in the world.
This section contains information on present and future projections of climate change in Canada, as well as the causes and impacts of this change and the measures being taken to reduce them.
