Has it become warmer in Alberta? Mapping temperature changes for the period 1950–2010 across Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Key Messages Between 1950 and 2010, winter temperatures in Alberta rose by 3.5°C to 5°C in the south and up to 7°C in the north, while summer temperatures increased by less than 1°C in most of the province. The number of days with minimum temperatures below −20°C has generally about halved across Alberta, while the number of heat waves has roughly doubled. Highest confidence levels were evident for rising trends in mean annual and winter temperatures, and declining trends in the number of days below −20°C and heating degree days.

Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Historic and Future Temperature and Precipitation Patterns Related to Snow Accumulation and Melt Regimes in Alberta, Canada

“…Canada's Changing Climate Report scales down climate projections to geographic regions in Canada, including an increase in annual temperature of 1.9 and 6.5 • C averaged over the Prairie Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) by 2100 for RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5, respectively [3]. Historic trend analyses on winter temperatures have documented a temperature increase in western Canada since the mid-20th century [29][30][31] and future climate projections consistently forecast continued increases, the magnitude of which depends on the future time period and emissions scenario [3,5,32]. Concomitant with increasing temperatures have been decreases in winter precipitation [29,30], snowfall [33,34], and snow water equivalent (SWE) [35] over the historic period.…”

Evaluating the Mechanisms of Landscape Change on White‐Tailed Deer Populations

“…Furthermore, these climate effects can influence deer survival rates in subsequent years (Post and Stenseth 1998, Dawe 2011). Less severe winters are becoming more frequent in Alberta, Canada (Brown and Braaten 1998, Vincent et al 2015, Kienzle 2018), which could lead to increased deer populations.…”

Increasing fish biodiversity in high elevation Albertan lakes in response to global environmental change over the past 50 years

“…The annual average temperature has increased throughout the province at significant rates from 1950-2010 (Kienzle, 2018). Since the 1950s, the average annual temperatures have increased by a total of 2-4˚C and 1-2˚C in the north and south, respectively (Kienzle, 2018).…”

“…The annual average temperature has increased throughout the province at significant rates from 1950-2010 (Kienzle, 2018). Since the 1950s, the average annual temperatures have increased by a total of 2-4˚C and 1-2˚C in the north and south, respectively (Kienzle, 2018). Northern regions of Alberta appear to be warming more rapidly than the rest of the country, as over the same time period, Canada's annual mean temperature has increased by 1.5˚C (Vincent et al, 2012).…”

“…We focused on 20 lakes surveyed over five decades from 1971 to 2019 located in central and southern Alberta, Canada. This alpine region is a good study system to elucidate the impact of anthropogenic activity and climate change on lake fish assemblages owing to its rising temperatures (Kienzle, 2018) and intensive land development (Komers and Stanojevic, 2013). We quantified changes in species composition and populations of functional groups, such as thermal and trophic guilds.…”