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The evolution of temperature extremes in the Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec, Canada (1974–2013)

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Abstract

The majority of natural hazards that affect Canadian territory are the result of extreme climate and weather conditions. Among these weather hazards, some can be calculated from the application of thresholds for minimum and maximum temperatures at a daily or monthly timescale. These thermal indices allowed the prediction of extreme conditions that may have an impact on the human population by affecting, for example, health, agriculture, and water resources. In this article, we discuss the methods used (RHtestsV4, SPLIDHOM, ClimPACT) then describe the steps followed to calculate the indices, including how we dealt with the problem of missing data and the necessity to identify a common methodology to analyze the time series. We also present possible solutions for ensuring the quality of meteorological data. We then present an overview of the results, namely the main trends and variability of extreme temperature for seven stations located in the Gaspé Peninsula from 1974 to 2013. Our results indicate some break points in time series and positive trends for most indices related to the rise of the temperatures but indicate a negative trend for the indices related to low temperatures for most stations during the study period.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Jeremy Hayhoe for proof-reading assistance and Gabriela Goudard for the mapping. The quality control and homogenizations of daily data of maximum and minimum temperatures was done in the context of the Italian MIUR Project (PRIN 2010-11): “Response of morphoclimatic system dynamics to global changes and related geomorphological hazards” (national coordinator C. Baroni) and the Italian research project NextSnow (national coordinator V. Levizzani).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département d’histoire et de géographie, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, E1A 3E9, Canada

    Guillaume Fortin

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Torino, Via Valperga Caluso, 35-10125, Torino, Italy

    Fiorella Acquaotta & Simona Fratianni

  3. Centro Interdipartimentale Sui Rischi Naturali in Ambiente Montano e Collinare, NatRisk, via Leonardo da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, Torino, Italy

    Fiorella Acquaotta & Simona Fratianni

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  1. Guillaume Fortin
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Correspondence to Guillaume Fortin.

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Fortin, G., Acquaotta, F. & Fratianni, S. The evolution of temperature extremes in the Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec, Canada (1974–2013). Theor Appl Climatol 130, 163–172 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-016-1859-x

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