Climate Change and Drought

Climate change is increasing the risk and severity of droughts globally and across Canada, leading to significant economic losses in agriculture and hydroelectricity, increased wildfire risk, and public health threats. In Canada, the southern Prairies and interior British Columbia are particularly vulnerable, with 2025 seeing 85% of the country abnormally dry. The document advocates for proactive drought response plans, water conservation, and strengthened agricultural resilience to mitigate these impacts.

• Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of droughts globally, with over 40% of global land area expected to experience year-round drying by the end of the 21st century, even under low-warming scenarios.
• In Canada, drought risk is increasing across most of the country, with the Prairie provinces, southern Northwest Territories, interior British Columbia, and most of Ontario likely to see the greatest increases in severity and frequency. By September 2025, approximately 85% of Canada was in drought conditions or abnormally dry.
• Droughts have caused severe economic disruptions in Canada, including a surge in crop insurance payments from $890 million in 2018 to $4.9 billion in 2022. In 2021, Saskatchewan's crop production fell by a record 47%, making it the only province whose economy contracted that year (-0.3%).
• Drought conditions negatively impact hydroelectricity generation and revenue. In 2024, Hydro-Québec saw an $866 million revenue drop due to cutting exports by more than half. In 2025, severe drought caused Manitoba Hydro's operating costs to exceed its budget by $684 million.
• Droughts act as a primary driver for wildfires by drying out vegetation and soils. Widespread drought contributed to Canada's second-worst wildfire season on record in 2025 and the worst in history in 2023.
• Droughts pose significant risks to human health, including degraded drinking water quality, increased risk of water-borne diseases, respiratory issues from windblown dust, and mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression, particularly for farmers.
• The document recommends several government interventions to increase resilience, including implementing proactive drought response plans (such as Alberta's), adopting universal water metering, improving early warning systems like the Canadian Drought Monitor, and investing in climate modeling for the hydroelectric sector.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (2026). Climate Change and Drought. https://climateinstitute.ca/news/fact-sheet-climate-change-and-drought/

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. Climate Change and Drought. 2026. https://climateinstitute.ca/news/fact-sheet-climate-change-and-drought/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=Climate Change and Drought |date=22 June 2026 |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/news/fact-sheet-climate-change-and-drought/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianclimateinstitute2026climate, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{Climate Change and Drought}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/news/fact-sheet-climate-change-and-drought/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }