Droughts in Canada: An overview

Droughts are one of the most dramatic manifestations of variations in the water cycle. Large-area, prolonged droughts are among Canada's costliest natural disasters having major impacts on a wide range of sectors including agriculture, forestry, industry, municipalities, recreation, health and society, and aquatic ecosystems. Although most regions of Canada have experienced drought, southern regions of the Canadian Prairies are more susceptible mainly due to their high variability of precipitation in time and space. This presentation provides an overview of droughts in Canada with an emphasis on the Canadian Prairies. Firstly, past trends and variability in drought occurrence across various regions of the country during the instrumental and recent paleo record are reviewed. This is followed by a description of the existing knowledge regarding the large-scale atmospheric causes related to Canadian drought. Current monitoring, modelling and prediction capabilities, and adaptation strategies as they relate to droughts in Canada are also given. In addition, insight into potential future droughts is provided. The talk concludes with the identification of major research gaps and program needs regarding North American droughts that will aid in our ability to understand and predict their occurrence, monitor/model their status, and adapt to their effects.