Causes and Effects of Climate Change in the Northern Territories
The Northern Territories of Canada are heavily affected by climate change. Climate change in the North is mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels, which releases greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are a big problem, because the more greenhouse gases that get released into the atmosphere, they get caught there, and cause the planet to get warmer. In the Northern Territories, the temperature has risen 0.74 degrees Celsius, but has gone up to 2 degrees Celsius.
Due to the increased temperature, ice in the oceans have started to melt, which is causing ocean levels to rise, and warm as well. Rising ocean levels can lead to flash floods, which would devastate communities, and warming ocean temperatures could lead to some endangered animals going extinct. Another effect of climate change would be extreme weather patterns, such as flooding, an increase in rain, and overheating. These would heavily affect the population living in this area, and all the wildlife and nature living in the North as well.
These seem like horrible consequences, so what are the people living here doing to try and curb the effects of climate change? The Government of Nunavut is trying to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by using alternate forms of energy that isn’t fossil fuels, such as solar and wind. In the Northwest Territories, they are investing more time and money into trying to find new and innovative ways to control their greenhouse gas emissions as well.
Sources:
https://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/nun_201803_e_42874.html
https://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/sites/enr/files/ccsf_ghg_emissions_factsheet.pdf