water availability

City of Brooks asking residents to cut down on water usage

City of Brooks asking residents to cut down on water usage

A water shortage has caused the City of Brooks and surrounding area to be put under water rationing. The Eastern Irrigation District (EID) has reported a significant drop in river levels, six to eight weeks earlier than usual due to low snowpack and early snowmelt in the region. In turn, the EID has initiated Stage 3 of their Drought Plan, limiting water usage to two-thirds of normal for residents and businesses in Brooks.

USask research aims to identify how ‘thirsty’ forests affect water availability

USask research aims to identify how ‘thirsty’ forests affect water availability

University of Saskatchewan (USask) graduate Dr. Magali Nehemy (PhD) and her research team investigated how plants use water — where they get it, when they need it and how these processes impact overall water availability. Understanding the way plants use water can assist farmers to work efficiently and productively. Irrigation schedules and fertilizer applications depend heavily on the amount of water available in the surrounding soil and how efficiently plants can use it.

‘Incredibly destructive’: Canada’s Prairies to see devastating impact of climate change

‘Incredibly destructive’: Canada’s Prairies to see devastating impact of climate change

As the climate continues to warm at an alarming rate, experts warn if dramatic steps to mitigate global warming are not taken, the effects in Canada’s Prairie region will be devastating to the country’s agriculture sector. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the country is warming, on average, about double the global rate. Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the U.S. recently found 2020 was earth’s second-hottest year on record, with the average land and ocean surface temperature across the globe at 0.98 of a degree C above the 20th-century average. However, the agency found the northern hemisphere saw its hottest year on record, at 1.28 degrees C above the average.

Water shortages and yearly floods: Canada won’t escape climate crisis, UN report says

Water shortages and yearly floods: Canada won’t escape climate crisis, UN report says

Damage to Earth’s oceans and glaciers from climate change is outpacing the ability of governments to protect them, a new report from an international scientific panel concludes. “The capacity of governance systems in polar and ocean regions to respond to climate change impacts has strengthened recently,” says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “But this development is not sufficiently rapid or robust to adequately address the scale of increasing projected risks.”