Average temperatures rising over last 60 years in Nova Scotia: study

HALIFAX – A study by two Nova Scotia biologists indicates average temperatures in the province have been trending upward for the last 60 years and have risen notably since 1998.

Researchers at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S., analyzed Environment Canada data from 16 locations across the province to document temperature normals, which are the average temperatures of specific areas over a 30-year period.

David Garbary and Nicholas Hill discovered that in Halifax, the Annapolis Valley and western Cape Breton, the average temperature rise from 1998 to 2020 was more than 1C higher compared with normals recorded between 1961 and 1990.

The study, published by the Nova Scotia Institute of Science earlier this year, says a month-by-month analysis indicated temperature rises were apparent in the fall.

The data, they say, indicated the first frosts in the province were occurring later in the year.

Garbary and Hill also note that average temperature rises in coastal areas along the Atlantic were even higher compared with inland locations – ranging from 1.2C to 1.6C higher than normals from the prior decades.

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