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Northern Canada warned of permafrost melt
OTTAWA, A Canadian environmental group says communities in the Northwest Territories will need some significant infrastructure changes as the climate gets warmer.
Melting permafrost in coming years will mean more riverbank erosion and road damage from increasingly unstable weather in the usually frigid northern reaches.
"It's really important that community decision-makers and government decision-makers are prepared to spend a little bit more to make sure that the design (of structures such as buildings and roadways) is as strong as possible," said Doug Ritchie, spokesman for Ecology North, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Ecology North sent up the warning after Environment Canada reported that spring temperatures in the frigid region were 6 degrees above normal this year and broke the previous record set in 1998 by half a degree.
The CBC said the warm spell in recent years has already increased the amount of money spent on erosion-related repairs to bridges and roads, and the melting of permafrost is expected to cause ground movement that could damage buildings.
OTTAWA, A Canadian environmental group says communities in the Northwest Territories will need some significant infrastructure changes as the climate gets warmer.
Melting permafrost in coming years will mean more riverbank erosion and road damage from increasingly unstable weather in the usually frigid northern reaches.
"It's really important that community decision-makers and government decision-makers are prepared to spend a little bit more to make sure that the design (of structures such as buildings and roadways) is as strong as possible," said Doug Ritchie, spokesman for Ecology North, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Ecology North sent up the warning after Environment Canada reported that spring temperatures in the frigid region were 6 degrees above normal this year and broke the previous record set in 1998 by half a degree.
The CBC said the warm spell in recent years has already increased the amount of money spent on erosion-related repairs to bridges and roads, and the melting of permafrost is expected to cause ground movement that could damage buildings.
