A new national assessment released on Thursday of climate change in Canada reveals that the country is warming rapidly due to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions that is driving widespread changes including extreme heat, longer wildfire seasons, shrinking snow and ice, warming oceans and rising sea levels.
Canada’s Changing Climate Report 2026 updates a previous report issued in 2019. The following University of Victoria (UVic) experts contributed to the report and are available to media for comment:
Roberta Hamme (School of Earth and Ocean Sciences (SEOS)), the director of SEOS, is an expert on ocean gases. Hamme contributed to the section on changing ocean conditions around Canada, which found that oceans have warmed and become more acidic because of excess carbon dioxide from human activities. Marine heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense, with impacts on marine ecosystems and coastal communities. (Limited availability until Sept. 6. Please contact [email protected] for interviews.)
Xuebin Zhang (Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC)) is a member of the report steering committee and science advisory committee. He is an expert in the fields of climate detection, attribution and the study of extremes in the Earth’s climate system. As director of PCIC, Zhang brings extensive knowledge of how the climate system is changing and the effects of climate change at the regional scale. (Office: 250-721-6236 or [email protected])
Francis Zwiers (scientist emeritus, PCIC) is an expert in the application of statistical methods to analyze observed and simulated climate variability and change. Zwiers, the former director of PCIC, is a coordinating lead author for the chapter that provides detailed assessments of the role of human influence on temperature and precipitation changes. (Office: 250-721-6236 or [email protected])
Learn more about UVic’s contributions.
