Analysis: Climate change drove Canada’s warm December

Analysis by Climate Central indicates that human-caused climate change made the record-breaking warmth in Canada during December 2023 significantly more likely. While El Niño contributed to milder conditions, the report argues it was insufficient on its own to produce the observed records. The warmth led to delayed ice road openings in the North and disrupted winter sports and skating in provinces like Ontario and British Columbia.

• December 2023 was unusually warm across Canada, with every province and territory recording temperatures above the 1991-2020 long-term average. Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta experienced the highest anomalies, with temperatures 8.6°C, 8.0°C, and 7.1°C above normal, respectively.
• Six provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan) and one territory (Nunavut) experienced their warmest December since 1970.
• Using the Climate Shift Index (CSI), the analysis found that human-caused climate change made these temperatures more likely. Most of Canada had more than five days where the temperature was at least twice as likely due to climate change (CSI 2 or higher), with the highest averages in the Northwest Territories (13.9 days) and Nunavut (13.8 days).
• While El Niño typically brings milder winters to Canada, the report concludes that record temperatures occurred because El Niño acted in conjunction with global warming caused by burning fossil fuels.
• The warm weather caused socio-economic disruptions, including delayed openings of ice roads in the Northwest Territories and northern Saskatchewan, and delays to ski hill openings in British Columbia and Ontario. In Ottawa, the Rideau Canal skateway's delayed opening is a rare event, occurring only twice in 53 years.

APA

Climate Central (2024). Analysis: Climate change drove Canada’s warm December. https://www.climatecentral.org/report/climate-shift-index-alert-canada-dec-2023

Chicago

Climate Central. Analysis: Climate change drove Canada’s warm December. 2024. https://www.climatecentral.org/report/climate-shift-index-alert-canada-dec-2023.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=Analysis: Climate change drove Canada’s warm December |date=16 January 2024 |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/report/climate-shift-index-alert-canada-dec-2023 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatecentral2024analysis, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{Analysis: Climate change drove Canada’s warm December}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/report/climate-shift-index-alert-canada-dec-2023}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }