ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Abrupt changes in the weather are nothing new in Newfoundland and Labrador, where locals often say, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes.''
But the bone-chilling winds, heavy downpours and blinding snowstorms that are a part of daily life in the province may become even more erratic if current climate change patterns continue, a top scientist from the Atlantic region warned Thursday.
George Rose, a professor at Memorial University in St. John's, said while other parts of the planet heat up due to climate change, Newfoundland and Labrador may actually see overall temperatures drop.
That's because the province will likely become more susceptible to the cooling effects of the Labrador Current, which flows southward from the Arctic Ocean, Rose said.
"Glaciers in Greenland and Baffin Island in northern Canada are melting as we speak,'' Rose said after delivering a speech on climate change and its anticipated impact on the province.
"With all that ice ... being put into the water, it cools down the Labrador Current, which then cools our whole ecosystem. Because our ecosystem is dominated by the Labrador Current, as it goes, so go we.''
The Labrador Current is one of the coldest ocean currents on the planet. It meets the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream in the Grand Banks, southeast of Newfoundland. The combination of these two currents generates the dense fog the province is renowned for.
It also prompts some Newfoundlanders to jokingly wonder whether they'll enjoy the benefits of global warming.
"I keep hearing from many of my friends and colleagues here that climate change could only be good for Newfoundland and Labrador,'' Rose said. "I think you really have to be careful what you wish for.''
Rose, who specializes in ocean and fisheries science, said climate change could cause havoc for Newfoundland's centuries-old fishery. Seals could be increasingly confined to northern waters due to a lack of ice, spawning cycles for salmon could be interrupted and fish species from the south could migrate to Newfoundland's waters.
Some changes have already been observed, Rose said.
"I can remember when I was first studying fisheries science and doing my early degrees and talking to old fishermen at the wharf. They would set their calendars by the arrival of capelin,'' he said, referring to the small, smelt-like species that serve as a main food source for cod.
"That sort of all went out the window in the '90s.''
Newfoundland and Labrador already has a well-earned reputation for wild weather.
Storms that travel east across the continent often intensify off the eastern United States before heading into the North Atlantic, particularly between November and March.
According to Environment Canada, St. John's receives more snow, rain, wind, fog and cloud cover than any other major Canadian city.
