By Eva Rachert – News Editor

Much of Quebec missed out on the typical white Christmas this year as mild temperatures and rain made for a warm winter break. Winter sports and activities have had a late start, and travellers have been stranded by the unseasonable storms. 

The local ski season started off weeks later than it typically does, with ski hills relying heavily on manufactured snow. Several local mountains have not yet fully opened and few people are turning up on the slopes. Mont Sutton, which lost power for multiple days in late December, has yet to open several chairlifts and trails. Bromont has opened just over half of the hill. Few cross-country ski routes have opened. While American tourists have been filling up the resorts, people across Canada have been noting unusual winter weather. 

For much of late December and early January, Montreal’s high was above 0 degrees, where typically the city would be averaging at -4 in other years. The average low was only -1 degrees Celsius, as opposed to the typical -14. 

While weather this mild is rare for Montreal, it has grown increasingly more commonplace in the last 20 years. These weather patterns in December and January have only occurred five times since 1875; however, three of these occurrences have taken place since 2007. In December of 2007, the city hit a record high of 12 degrees. 

In Sherbrooke, the weather patterns are similar, with an average of -1 degrees in the last two weeks. Nearly every ice-skating rink remains unopened, and those that are open have less than ideal conditions, having melted and refrozen several times over. 

The unseasonably warm weather serves as a grim reminder of the effects that climate change will have on Eastern Canada. Québec’s per capita greenhouse gas emissions are some of the highest in the world, with poor plans from the provincial government to address and lower the production of emissions. Southern Ontario and Quebec are expected to warm almost twice as quickly as much of the rest of the world, and Northern Quebec is expected to warm three times as quickly. Future winters in Quebec are predicted to be approximately 5 degrees warmer than previous winters. This will likely lead to increased frequency of flash floods in the region, which the current infrastructure is poorly prepared for. 

Winter is on its way, with temperatures expected to dip to seasonal averages in the coming weeks. Freezing rain is forecasted to hit the city, and the Eastern Townships can expect a wet winter. However, in future winters, Quebec can expect to experience the consequences of climate change more severely.