Skip to content

EDITORIAL: Yes, we can see climate change in Squamish

M any Squamish residents were shocked to see a snowfall warning issued by Environment Canada earlier this week – it’s March, after all. Spring is less than two weeks away.

Many Squamish residents were shocked to see a snowfall warning issued by Environment Canada earlier this week – it’s March, after all. 

Spring is less than two weeks away. It’s a time for warmer days, budding flowers and, as Squamites, we’re used to the seemingly endless rain spring brings. 

But it’s obvious winter hasn’t given up when we’re still wearing snow boots and scraping ice off our cars in the morning. 

If you feel like there’s been more snow lately, you’re definitely right. In December, an impressive 63 centimetres of snow fell on Squamish, compared to the average 31, and the trend continued into the New Year with plenty of snowfall and Arctic outflow warnings. 

“There’s definitely been more snow than we’ve seen in the last several years,” Jason Ross, Environment Canada’s official local weather watcher, told The Chief earlier this year. 

With all these chilly days, there have been several people on local social media questioning whether global warming, a.k.a. climate change, could really be true.

The answer is a definitive yes. 

When it is really, really cold out like was common in the past, snow is likely to be very light and fluffy, according to www.iflscience.com, a popular science website. 

By contrast, the heaviest snowfalls occur between -4 and 0 Celsius, our current temperatures. This is why we are seeing more snow that usual, even though the weather is warmer than in the past.  

The evening before the latest snowfall warning, on March 7, the lowest temperature was only -2 Celsius. 

This explains the large, wet snowflakes that started to melt quickly into big puddles. 

So, all this snow in March isn’t a sign that climate change is a hoax; it actually proves what thousands of scientists are saying is true. 

Many of us remember there being a lot more snow when we were kids; the kind of snow perfect for building forts and snowmen. Feet and feet of snow that hung around for weeks. 

But the truth is, many recent years have had more snowfall – but it often melts quickly or isn’t sticking to the ground because it’s too warm out. 

So please, next time someone tells you that climate change doesn’t exist tell them the facts.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks