A LEGACY OF COLD

• BY GABRIELLE ANCTIL

"The snowy winters of your childhood will never come back," was the headline on Radio-Canada in 2019, in an article in which reporter Naël Shiab analyzed data from weather stations across the country to determine the impact of the climate crisis on snow cover. "[Montreal] has lost nearly two weeks of snow on the ground over the decades," the reporter noted—a similar situation observed across the province.

The impacts of climate change are now part of our daily lives. They can be seen in the floods, record heat waves and forest fires that make headlines almost every day. They also affect an important aspect of Quebec culture: the weather.

CLIMATE CULTURE

It’s easy to confuse weather and climate, but the difference is important. This distinction is addressed in several of the Biosphère's activities and exhibitions. Weather is measured over a rather short period of time, such as a day; climate is the aggregate analysis of the longer-term behaviour of the atmosphere. A hot day is not a marker of global warming, but a summer where the average temperature was unusually high during a decade that was also very hot, is.

Regardless of the causes of changes in weather, they still allow Quebecers to engage in one of their favorite activities: talking about the weather.

"Around here, people talk about the weather all the time," says Diane Pacom, a sociology professor at the University of Ottawa. Pacom, who came to Canada more than 40 years ago, is still amazed at the place weather holds in the culture of her adopted country. "In sociology, we refer to this as a heavy variable. That is, the weather has a significant effect on politics, the economy, and society in general."

This should come as no surprise: the extreme temperature variations between summer and winter, and sometimes even from one day to the next, make for an infinite number of topics of conversation. They also give us a privileged glance into the changes taking place on a global scale. "We’re distraught when it doesn’t snow before Christmas," says Marie-Hélène Roch, a researcher in urban northern studies.

SAVING WINTER

Will our love of the weather inspire us to act to preserve its nuances? Hard to say with certainty. On the one hand, it is true that we have an emotional attachment to our snowy winters and sunny summers. "Quebecers introduce winter to newcomers as if it were a loved one, a friend," says Diane Pacom. It’s not surprising that we would want to preserve such an important part of our identity at all costs.

On the other hand, it is essential to note that we still often behave as if these variations did not exist. "When the Europeans arrived, they tried to bring their ways of doing things without adapting them to local conditions," recalls Marie-Hélène Roch. These bad habits continue today, as infrastructures are still being built without taking into account the rigours of winter. "Why are there so many signs that say ‘Caution – Falling ice’? Why haven't we figured out a way to avoid this sort of danger?" the researcher asks. But there’s a glimmer of hope: “By having to constantly adjust to the climate, we have developed a great ability to adapt to new situations," says Marie-Hélène Roch. A newcomer must acquire skills that may seem second nature to anyone who has been dealing with these variations all their lives. One example is dressing in layers, a teaching passed down directly from Indigenous peoples to the early settlers.

We know that Quebec will have to face significant upheavals. It is estimated that in the coming decades the temperature will rise by nearly 4°C in the south of the province. Intense heat waves and floods are looming. If we hope to avoid these disturbances and reduce our GHG emissions, we will need to tap into our well of ingenuity. Our future winters depend on it.