Blogs
While applying new normals at Canada’s weather stations is not unusual (the 30-year rolling average is updated every decade), the degree of change this time is notable: Average temperatures are rising across the board, during winter most of all. In the past 65 years, Canada’s national average winter temperature has risen 3.2 degrees.
This reaffirms what many suspected. Canada is getting hotter faster than ever before and at a faster rate than almost any other country. Rain, snow, sleet and hail storms are becoming more erratic. What were once considered exceptional weather patterns – the kind researchers reject to avoid skewing their data – are becoming common.
Apple and pear production systems are sensitive to temperature throughout the growth cycle. These crops are dependent on a dormant period which requires accumulation of chill during the autumn and winter to promote bud burst and flowering. During the subsequent fruit growth phase, fruit size and quality are affected directly by climate, through temperature-driven impacts on growth processes, colour development and sunburn damage.
