Suchergebnisse

AbstractTo understand climate change impacts on Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada, historical daily precipitation and temperature of the island was investigated between the periods: 1931–60 (1940s), 1961–90 (1970s), and 1991–2020 (2000s) in its eastern, central, and western parts. Observed climatic data were utilized, augmented by some validated modeled data of Pacific Climate Impact Consortium (PCIC) for missing years. Statistically significant warming of the island was found ranging from 1.14°C in the east to 0.75°C in the west from the 1970s to 2000s. The warming trend during the period was distributed throughout the year including winters. In the east, mean monthly temperature significantly increased in all the months except for January, March, and June. Significant increase in temperature was found solely during August (+0.80°C) in central, and for August (+0.64°C), September (+0.99°C), and October (+0.73°C) in western parts. Proportionate increase in annual minimum temperature was greater than the maximum, particularly in eastern (+1.57°C) and central (+0.75°C) parts and thus indicated moderated cold there. Over the same 30‐year period, annual precipitation increased 6 percent in the east but decreased 5 and 8 percent in the central and the western PEI, respectively. The changes in precipitation were not statistically significant, except snowfall reduction (−20%) in the west, which was a statistically significant change. Interannual precipitation variations during wet and dry years having 20 and 80 percent probabilities of exceedance, respectively, ranged 350–470 mm/year during 1991–2020. Rainfall intensities, measured by hourly data, increased from 1.15 to 2.24 mm/hr, on average in central and western parts, respectively, in 2004–17 compared to 1970s. Impacts of the rising temperatures, decreasing precipitation, and uneven and intense rainfalls patterns on water resources and rainfed agriculture need further investigations. Climate change adaptations be included in existing water policies to mitigate the impacts.