The East Coast's whipsaw shifts between freeze and thaw has complicated life for the Canada Winter Games, as athletes and organizers adapt to what climate scientists say is the new reality of less snow.
Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, the information officer for biathlon at the Games, says in the weeks leading up to the competition, there were questions whether a mild January might force some skiing events to move off Prince Edward Island.
According to Environment Canada, the last time the Island held the winter games in 1991, the average temperature was -11 C and 88 centimetres of snow had fallen during January. This year, the average temperature in January was -2 C — the warmest since 1953 — and 58 cm of snow fell during the month. According to "Canada's Changing Climate" — the 2019 summary of federal climate science — over the past three decades, global warming has led to a decrease in the proportion of Canadian land covered by snow. The document says there are "significant reductions in seasonal snow accumulation" projected across Southern Canada in the decades ahead, including the Atlantic region.
However, Peggy Falkenham-Boutilier, the team's coach, said her association is starting to seriously consider what biathlon looks like without snow in Nova Scotia. He said interviews he conducts suggest the prime concern of the athletes and winter sports enthusiasts is that as local conditions decline, "we lose an important pipeline to the next generation of snow sports athletes."
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