Coordinated by a partnership between climate services organizations in the U.S. and Canada, this product provides a synthesis report summarizing the previous years’ climate trends, events, new research, applications, and related activities in the Great Lakes Region. This product is a contribution to the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, through Annex 9 on Climate Change Impacts, and to the national climate assessment processes in the U.S. and Canada. It should be cited as: Environment and Climate Change Canada and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2023 Annual Climate Trends and Impacts Summary for the Great Lakes Basin. 2024.
2023 Document
English Version (PDF)
During the 2023 reporting period, air temperatures were above normal and precipitation was near to below normal for most of the basin. Dry conditions were prevalent in different areas of the basin through 2023, becoming widespread by the fall. These conditions contributed to wildfires in Ontario and Quebec, which drove record-low air quality throughout the basin in the summer months from drifting smoke. Amidst the dry conditions, there were small pockets of above-average precipitation in every season except the fall. Both wet and dry conditions contributed to above-average seasonal shifts in water levels on numerous lakes. At 21.6% areal coverage, Great Lakes maximum ice cover in 2023 was well below the long-term average.
Contributing Partners
References
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