Floods throughout Canada

According to sources, floods and heavy rainfall have been appearing more often throughout Canada. This issue is linked with global warming. The main cause of global warming is the greenhouse effect. Some gases in the Earth's atmosphere act a bit like the glass in a greenhouse, trapping the sun's heat and stopping it from leaking back into space and causing global warming. Human activities causing climate change are: Increased use of fosil fuels, deforestation and increased industrialization.

Studies show that the warmer a place is the more moisture it can hold, thus leading to more precipitation. Changes in precipitation patterns will impact people and ecosystems by altering available water supply. The impacts of changing precipitation patterns include: Floods and droughts becoming more frequent and severe, wildfires becoming stronger and more common.

Flooding can come from all sorts of water sources, including groundwater, rain and rivers. But cities and towns that are near rivers or the sea are most at risk. Due to human actions and too much greenhouse gases being built up, the planet is getting notably hotter. We want to advance efficiently, but we usually forget that our actions cost us more of the earth.

Every flood leads to billions of dollars in damage and lives are at risk. Floods are normal to every place in the world with Canada being no exception However if you live in an urban zone you'll have a lower risk. There are unfortunately no methods in completely preventing floods, however there are ways to reduce the effects of a flood. Governments try to tackle floods in an efficient and cheap manner.

Natural flood management consists of small measures to reduce the flow of water before it reaches cities or towns. Lightweight metal barriers are inexpensive and can be placed in various positions. Diversion canals are used to redirect floods to other bodies of water. Dams and their associated reservoirs are designed to protect against floods, dry dams however are designed to completely defend against floods without any reservoir.

Chung, E, Hopton, A, Reid, T (2021, May 12). Yes, we’re getting more extreme rainfall, and it’s due to climate change, study confirms.  https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/extreme-rainfall-climate-change-1.5595396 

Reducing flood damage (2013 Sep, 19). Government of Canada. Retrieved May 13, 2021, from  https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/water-overview/quantity/reducing-flood-damage.htm l

Causes of climate change (2019, Mar 28). Government of Canada. Retrieved May 13, 2021, from  https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/causes.html 

Bob, B (2020, Jun 12). New Study Shows Global Warming Intensifying Extreme Rainstorms Over North America. Inside Climate News. Retrieved May 13, 2021, from  https://insideclimatenews.org/news/02062020/extreme-rain-study-climate-change/