insanity
May 10th, 2006, 06:13 PM
I think pretty much everyone was expecting this, especially with the mild winter we had.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/10052006/2/national-environment-canada-predicting-hot-dry-summer-entire-country.html
TORONTO (CP) - Canadian farmers could be in for another frustrating year, and power-sucking air conditioners could again push energy supplies to the limit as Environment Canada predicts a hot, dry summer for most of the country.
The national weather map for May through July is coloured almost entirely red, indicating higher than normal temperatures are expected everywhere except for parts of British Columbia and the territories.
A hot summer will no doubt be welcomed by sun worshippers, but it's a good-news, bad-news scenario, Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips said Wednesday.
"Just think about last summer and how difficult it was with the cost of cooling our homes and watering bans," he said. "There's a lot of negative things with warmer-than-normal summers."
While many farmers have enjoyed a mild spring and started early with their crops, a dry summer could prove costly, Phillips said.
Only a few areas of the country are expected to receive average or above-average levels of precipitation, but they are largely in the far north and in less densely populated areas.
"Parts of the far West, southern Ontario and southern Quebec - the big agricultural belts - we're seeing drier than normal . . . which may very well be problematic," Phillips said.
Last summer produced good crops due to hot weather and adequate rainfall, but warm temperatures and a lack of rain will be tough on farmers, said Geri Kamenz, vice-president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
"Our livelihood is tied to six inches of top soil, sunshine and timely rain," Kamenz said.
The most vulnerable farmers would be those growing field crops like wheat, soybeans and corn, which require vast volumes of water during the growing season, he said.
"We'll be looking at desert-like conditions because the heat just evaporates the water so quick."
Many farmers in the West have already been hurt by low crop prices and can't afford a major drought, said Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.
"I can tell you hot and dry isn't going to be good for us this year," she said. "We're coming off a drought year (in Saskatchewan) and we certainly suffered because of it. We're crossing our fingers for rain."
Another major concern of a hot summer is heavy use of air conditioners that strain the electricity supply, said Terry Young of the Independent Electricity System Operator, which is responsible for Ontario's power system.
"On a hot summer day you can see anywhere between 10 to 25 per cent of the demand attributed to air conditioning, and we saw the effects last summer," he said.
Power consumption in Ontario hit record highs during the summer of 2005 and prompted warnings that rolling blackouts might be needed if people didn't conserve energy.
Young said the situation doesn't appear as dire this year since new power generation is available, but warned that a lack of conservation could lead to another energy crisis.
While Phillips was hesitant to blame the rising temperatures on global warming, he said climate change can't be ignored.
"We clearly see that seasons have changed," he said. "The old-timers are right - the seasons are just not what they used to be."
"I think the climate has warmed and it's not just Canada. How much of that is human beings and nature, we can't sort out. It's all blurred together."
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/10052006/2/national-environment-canada-predicting-hot-dry-summer-entire-country.html
TORONTO (CP) - Canadian farmers could be in for another frustrating year, and power-sucking air conditioners could again push energy supplies to the limit as Environment Canada predicts a hot, dry summer for most of the country.
The national weather map for May through July is coloured almost entirely red, indicating higher than normal temperatures are expected everywhere except for parts of British Columbia and the territories.
A hot summer will no doubt be welcomed by sun worshippers, but it's a good-news, bad-news scenario, Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips said Wednesday.
"Just think about last summer and how difficult it was with the cost of cooling our homes and watering bans," he said. "There's a lot of negative things with warmer-than-normal summers."
While many farmers have enjoyed a mild spring and started early with their crops, a dry summer could prove costly, Phillips said.
Only a few areas of the country are expected to receive average or above-average levels of precipitation, but they are largely in the far north and in less densely populated areas.
"Parts of the far West, southern Ontario and southern Quebec - the big agricultural belts - we're seeing drier than normal . . . which may very well be problematic," Phillips said.
Last summer produced good crops due to hot weather and adequate rainfall, but warm temperatures and a lack of rain will be tough on farmers, said Geri Kamenz, vice-president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
"Our livelihood is tied to six inches of top soil, sunshine and timely rain," Kamenz said.
The most vulnerable farmers would be those growing field crops like wheat, soybeans and corn, which require vast volumes of water during the growing season, he said.
"We'll be looking at desert-like conditions because the heat just evaporates the water so quick."
Many farmers in the West have already been hurt by low crop prices and can't afford a major drought, said Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.
"I can tell you hot and dry isn't going to be good for us this year," she said. "We're coming off a drought year (in Saskatchewan) and we certainly suffered because of it. We're crossing our fingers for rain."
Another major concern of a hot summer is heavy use of air conditioners that strain the electricity supply, said Terry Young of the Independent Electricity System Operator, which is responsible for Ontario's power system.
"On a hot summer day you can see anywhere between 10 to 25 per cent of the demand attributed to air conditioning, and we saw the effects last summer," he said.
Power consumption in Ontario hit record highs during the summer of 2005 and prompted warnings that rolling blackouts might be needed if people didn't conserve energy.
Young said the situation doesn't appear as dire this year since new power generation is available, but warned that a lack of conservation could lead to another energy crisis.
While Phillips was hesitant to blame the rising temperatures on global warming, he said climate change can't be ignored.
"We clearly see that seasons have changed," he said. "The old-timers are right - the seasons are just not what they used to be."
"I think the climate has warmed and it's not just Canada. How much of that is human beings and nature, we can't sort out. It's all blurred together."