Changing climate: How it affects air travel in northern Canadian communities

Travel in northern Canadian communities is impacted by climate change. A warmer environment results in shorter operational period for ice road in winter and longer window for sealift in summer. However, isolated communities continue to rely on air travel for year-round transportation and perishable goods. Our research focused on historic changes of surface wind conditions (wind speed and wind direction) over time that may affect airport operations in communities around Hudson Bay and James Bay. Results showed that overall wind speed recorded at airports were generally increasing over time, in some cases significantly. Wind direction patterns also appeared to be changing. Variability between different seasons could be possibly affected by synoptic weather, large scale circulation patterns, and reduction of sea ice caused by accelerated warming in the region. Consequences of changing wind conditions include runway direction no longer aligning with prevailing wind direction, aircraft facing crosswind during takeoff and landing, and possibly higher chance of encountering foggy weather which could lead to more delays and higher potential for plane crashes. Suggested airport adaptation strategies will be presented in response to the changing wind conditions.