Part C. Climate Change and Extreme Winter Weather
“Winter Season in Canada” by Don Toofee is licensed under CC-BY 2.0
Extreme Winter Weather
A winter blizzard covers the South Campus LRT station in a blanket of snow.
One of the main effects of climate change is that the Earth is slowly heating up. This will mean shorter and warmer winters for Edmonton, but it doesn’t mean that storms like the one shown in this picture will go away completely. We will still have cold snaps, blizzards, ice and snow. Some kinds of extreme winter weather, like freezing rain, will probably even happen more often. This is because one of the other main effects of climate change is an increase in extreme weather of all kinds.
Attribution: “4626 in Blizzard” by Kurt Bauschardt is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Health Impacts of Extreme Winter Weather
An ice-covered, slippery road in an Edmonton neighbourhood.
Climate change is likely to make freezing rain and other extreme winter weather happen more often in the coming years. This means that at certain times in the year, roads that look like the one in this photo could become even more common.
Icy roads and sidewalks like this one are dangerous to both cars and people who are just out for a walk. Older adults, in particular, are more likely to fall and hurt themselves when roads and sidewalks are slippery, and these falls can cause broken bones, concussions, and other long-term health issues.
Attribution: “Edmonton Winter” by Heidi G is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Adapting to Extreme Winter Weather
A collection of items, including shoes with good grip (bottom left), shoes with “Ice Cleats” (bottom right), and a walking stick (top left), that can help prevent falls when walking on icy sidewalks.
One of the best ways of avoiding falls on ice is making sure you are prepared when you go outside during winter, and good shoes are an important part of such preparations. The best shoes for ice are ones with good grip, like the hiking boots in the bottom left corner of the picture. Shoes that hold on to the ice well can stop slipping and help you stay on your feet.
If your shoes don’t have a good enough grip to stop you from slipping, putting store-bought “Ice Cleats” or “Shoe Grips” on them can improve their hold on ice. The shoes on the bottom right of this photo have had ice cleats slipped onto their soles. Just be careful to take them off when you go inside, as they can actually cause you to slip more on indoor flooring.
Finally, taking a cane, ski poles, walker or walking stick like the one at the top of the picture with you can also make it easier to keep your balance on icy sidewalks, especially if that cane, walker or walking stick is equipped with an “Ice Spike” or “Snow Spike”.
For more information on how to prevent slips and falls on icy surfaces, see https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Alberta/Pages/winter-walking-tips.aspx
Sources:
Canada Safety Council. (2018, January 04). Safety Tips for Winter Walking. Retrieved July/August, 2020, from https://canadasafetycouncil.org/safety-tips-for-winter-walking/
Fall Risk Management Program, Alberta Health Services. (Last Updated 2019, March 18). Winter Walking Tips. Retrieved July/August, 2020, from https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Alberta/Pages/winter-walking-tips.aspx
Vardoulakis, S., Dear, K., Hajat, S., Heaviside, C., Eggen, B., & Mcmichael, A. J. (2014). Comparative Assessment of the Effects of Climate Change on Heat- and Cold-Related Mortality in the United Kingdom and Australia. Environmental Health Perspectives, 122(12), 1285-1292. doi:10.1289/ehp.1307524
Warren, F.J. and Lemmen, D.S., editors (2014): Canada in a Changing Climate: Sector Perspectives on Impacts and Adaptation; Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON, 286p.