Climate change is a wide-scale change in average weather over at least 30 years whereas weather is what can be observed day-to-day. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, have an important effect on the Earth’s temperature, trapping heat in the atmosphere and causing global temperatures to rise, in what is called the greenhouse effect.

The natural greenhouse effect makes life on Earth possible. It is the excess of greenhouse gases that is a concern.   As temperature continues to increase in the coming years, at a global level we could see more heat waves, floods, droughts and rising sea levels. The impacts at a local level will vary, and work is currently underway to assess potential provincial impacts - risks, challenges and opportunities - resulting from a changing climate.