Close X
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

One-third of Canadians report being personally impacted by severe weather: poll

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 22 Aug, 2024 09:47 AM
  • One-third of Canadians report being personally impacted by severe weather: poll

A new poll suggests more Canadians are feeling the direct impacts of extreme weather, but that has not changed overall opinions about climate change. 

The results from a recent Leger poll suggest more than one in three Canadians have been touched directly by extreme weather such as forest fires, heat waves, floods or tornadoes. 

When Leger asked the same question in June 2023, around one in four Canadians indicated they had been impacted by extreme weather.

The previous poll was taken as the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season was just getting underway. 

The latest poll, which was conducted online Aug. 16-18, comes midway through another above-average wildfire season, and after news that the beloved Jasper National Park was partially destroyed by fire and as residents of the country's biggest city are living through the rainiest summer on record. 

A major rainstorm in Toronto in mid-July caused flash flooding and nearly $1 billion in insured damages, while another record-setting rainfall last weekend dropped more than a month's worth of rain on the city in just a few hours.

Some places in Atlantic Canada have also been dealing with flooding in July from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl. Across the country, a heat wave descended on large parts of British Columbia and Alberta in June and July and drought in both provinces has raised the fire risk substantially.

The number of people touched by extreme weather jumped significantly in every province but Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which stayed the same at 21 per cent. 

Alberta saw the biggest increase, with 43 per cent reporting they've seen the effects this year, up from 22 per cent in 2023. In Quebec the number rose to 41 per cent from 25 per cent, while in Ontario it was up 13 percentage points at 31 per cent. 

Almost half of those polled in Atlantic Canada say they have been touched by extreme weather, up from less than one-third a year ago.

More than seven in 10 people polled agreed we're seeing more forest fires than we did five years ago, while two in three said they have felt more extreme heat. Three in five also said there are more poor air quality days and more wild temperature fluctuations in a season. 

More than half of respondents say there are more floods and heavy rainstorms, as well as a delayed onset to winter.

Despite all that, people who took the survey were less likely to be concerned about climate change now than in 2023. 

More than a year ago, 67 per cent of those polled indicated that the changing climate was worrying, compared with 63 per cent this year.

The poll also shows virtually no movement on whether people believe in climate change: 13 per cent of those who took the survey say climate change does not exist, compared to 12 per cent in 2023.

About half of respondents believe there is still time to reverse climate change, while just over one-third said it's too late to turn back the clock.

The poll cannot be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered truly random samples.

MORE National ARTICLES

Fatal house fire north of Kamloops

Fatal house fire north of Kamloops
One person is dead and another was taken to hospital after a house fire in the Blackpool area, about 115 kilometres north of Kamloops. A statement from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District says the home was fully engulfed when firefighters responded to the blaze yesterday. 

Fatal house fire north of Kamloops

Arrest of 12 year olds in Port Moody

Arrest of 12 year olds in Port Moody
Police in Port Moody say two 12-year-old boys have been arrested and released with conditions after they allegedly assaulted a girl at a SkyTrain station. Police say they were notified on Tuesday of a video circulating in the community depicting an assault at the Moody Centre station the day before.

Arrest of 12 year olds in Port Moody

B.C. creates a special homicide unit as gangs involved in 46 per cent of murders

B.C. creates a special homicide unit as gangs involved in 46 per cent of murders
British Columbia is forming a specialized gang-related homicide investigation team, saying gangland murders now make up almost 50 per cent of the killings in the province. Data from the Ministry of Public Safety says gang-related homicides have climbed from 21 per cent of all killings in the province in 2003 to 46 per cent last year.

B.C. creates a special homicide unit as gangs involved in 46 per cent of murders

Business groups walk back claim on share of Canadians hit by capital gains changes

Business groups walk back claim on share of Canadians hit by capital gains changes
Prominent business groups are backtracking their claim that one in five Canadians would be affected by the federal government's proposed changes to capital gains taxation.

Business groups walk back claim on share of Canadians hit by capital gains changes

London Drugs president warns that cyber attackers 'constantly probing for weaknesses'

London Drugs president warns that cyber attackers 'constantly probing for weaknesses'
The president of London Drugs doesn't know why the company was targeted in a cyber attack that forced it to close its stores for more than week, but Clint Mahlman says hackers with sophisticated methods are "constantly probing for weaknesses" of online systems.

London Drugs president warns that cyber attackers 'constantly probing for weaknesses'

Start of wildfire season better than last year, but risk is high as drought continues

Start of wildfire season better than last year, but risk is high as drought continues
The start to wildfire season has been far less dramatic than it was last year but the risk of hot, dry weather and severe fires remains high, officials warned Thursday.

Start of wildfire season better than last year, but risk is high as drought continues