Published 18 hours ago • loading... • Updated 1 hour ago
Changes to Canada’s Climate Now ‘Irreversible,’ Federal Report Says
The 1,500-page assessment says human-caused warming is already driving more frequent extremes and some changes, including glacier loss, are locked in.
On Thursday, the federal government released Canada's Changing Climate Report 2026, stating climate impacts across the country are now largely irreversible with average temperatures projected to rise at least 3.5 C by century's end.
Fossil-Fuel emissions drive these widespread transformations, with human influence identified as the only explanation for the collective changes observed across Canada, from floods and wildfires to vanishing permafrost.
Projections show Western Canada's glaciers may lose more than 75 per cent of their mass by 2100, while wildfire burn areas could increase nearly 50 per cent even under net-zero emissions scenarios.
Ryan Ness, adaptation research director at the Canadian Climate Institute, warns Canada is failing to adequately prepare communities for escalating flood and wildfire risks. Sabine Dietz, executive director of CLIMAtlantic, stated Canadians are "stuck with some of these changes."
The Adaptation Canada 2026 conference in Toronto later this month will convene report authors and practitioners to address these findings, while the government pursues its $2.1-billion National Adaptation Strategy and net-zero targets by 2050.