Close X
Monday, November 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

Man charged with murder in stabbing death of Vancouver restaurant chef

Man charged with murder in stabbing death of Vancouver restaurant chef
Vancouver police have arrested and charged a 32-year-old man in the stabbing death of a Japanese restaurant chef near the city's Chinatown last week. Police say Timothy Isborn faces a second-degree murder charge following their six-day investigation.

Man charged with murder in stabbing death of Vancouver restaurant chef

Raed Jaser, convicted in Via Rail terror plot, loses appeal

Raed Jaser, convicted in Via Rail terror plot, loses appeal
Raed Jaser had challenged the outcome of the 2015 trial on several grounds, including that his case should have been severed from that of his co-accused, Chiheb Esseghaier – something he requested twice, unsuccessfully.

Raed Jaser, convicted in Via Rail terror plot, loses appeal

Calgary mayor says water restrictions to last at least another week for repairs

Calgary mayor says water restrictions to last at least another week for repairs
Calgarians will have to put up with using pasta water on their plants and confronting droopy, unwashed hair in the mirror for at least another week as repair crews deal with a major water line break, says Mayor Jyoti Gondek. Calgarians were in their seventh day of water restrictions, made necessary after one of the city's two main feeder pipes fractured.

Calgary mayor says water restrictions to last at least another week for repairs

Vancouver port open to recommendations from TSB after seaplane-boat collision

Vancouver port open to recommendations from TSB after seaplane-boat collision
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority says it is "certainly possible" that rules surrounding seaplanes operating in the city's downtown harbour could change in light of an aircraft colliding with a pleasure boat on takeoff over the weekend.

Vancouver port open to recommendations from TSB after seaplane-boat collision

Canada, U.S. interest rate policies set to diverge

Canada, U.S. interest rate policies set to diverge
With monetary policy at the Bank of Canada and U.S. Federal Reserve on track to diverge, experts say it could set the Canadian dollar up for volatility down the road. If the Bank of Canada’s rate falls too far below the Fed’s, it could negatively affect the loonie, said Allan Small, senior investment adviser at IA Private Wealth.

Canada, U.S. interest rate policies set to diverge

Trudeau heads to Italy as shadows of war in Ukraine, Gaza loom over G7 summit

Trudeau heads to Italy as shadows of war in Ukraine, Gaza loom over G7 summit
The three-day summit kicks off on Thursday in Apulia, Italy, where leaders of the seven wealthy democratic nations are expected to discuss the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, the energy transition, artificial intelligence, migration and collaboration with Africa.

Trudeau heads to Italy as shadows of war in Ukraine, Gaza loom over G7 summit