News
March 27, 2024
“Dr. Najafi receives an Early Researcher Award for his climate change research project”
Floods, the costliest natural hazard in Ontario, cause severe adverse effects on the people and their dwellings, communities, and infrastructure. They differ over time and across places due to population growth and weather extremes. Yet, the flood risk assessment approaches to protect Ontarians from future disasters do not account for the interaction between time and space.
To address this drawback, Keri Ferguson at Western News reports that Dr. Najafi’s award-winning project will “develop an integrated modelling framework to characterize the complex interactions between concurrent and sequential flood hazards across the entire Great Lakes basin.” Thus, it will help develop effective strategies for mitigation and make small and large communities and infrastructure systems resilient in Ontario.
Dr. M Reja Najafi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Western University and a WeCLISH faculty member.
Read the full article on Western News.
March 11, 2024
"Is Canada in for another extreme wildfire season?"
Dr. Katrina Moser discusses with Justin Zadorsky at Western News whether Canada is in for another extreme wildlife season.
Pointing to the harsh reality of unprecedented wildfires, which engulfed more than seven times the land in a single year in Canada compared to the last thirty years (18.5 million in 2023 vs. 2.5 million hectares in the previous 30 years), Dr. Moser asks us to think about their impact on the ecosystems, including water resources, and what we can do to make a difference.
To inspire action, she and her colleagues at Western braid together Indigenous worldviews and Western science to create an award-winning free online course, Connecting for Climate Change Action.
Professor Katrina Moser is the Chair of the Department of Geography and Environment at Western University and a WeCLISH faculty member.
Read the full article on Western News.
January 19, 2024
Rotary Clubs initiate planning discussions with the ICLR, Western University, and WeCLISH to build climate-resilient communities.
After visiting the ICLR Climate Resilience Centre, the Rotary Clubs in 6330 and 6380 districts, the Institute of Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), Western University, and the Western Centre for Climate Change, Sustainable Livelihoods and Health (WeCLISH) – met at the Convergence Centre to brainstorm activities to build climate resilience communities.
Photo: Building Community Resilient Community (BCRC) Project planning meeting participants at the ICLR Climate Centre. Clockwise, back row: Andrew Middleton, James Voogt, David Knoppert, Mark Oliver, Ron Aitken, Douglas Thompson, Barry Fraser, Isaac Luginaah, Katrina Moser, Gordon McBean, Joanne Palma. Front row: Keith Porter, Terrance McNaughton, Ron Allingham, Malcolm Rust.
ICLR’s Chief Engineer, Dr. Keith Porter, demonstrated how communities might act to protect their homes from climate disasters like fire, floods, hail and tornadoes.
Later, Dr. Gordon McBean facilitated a discussion with Rotary Club participants, brought together by Rotarians David Knoppert, District 6330, and Ron Allingham, District 6380.
Dr. Katrina Moser from Western introduced their free, award-winning Climate Change Action Course to help inspire climate-resilient community actions.
Drs. Isaac Luginaah from the WeCLISH and James Voogt from Western also participated in the discussion.
A brief planning meeting report will be posted here later. See below images of a few climate-resilient demonstration models at the climate centre.
Climate Resilient Model Demonstration at the Climate Centre
Photo: Models of a fire-non-resilient (left) and a fire-resilient (right) home.
Photo: Dr. Porter shows how a battery backup sump pump works to stop flooding the basement.
Photo: Hail-resistant asphalt shingle roofing (left) can make a difference in protecting roofs from hails.
Photo: Eight small, low-cost connections can make a house resist tornadoes.
January 11, 2024
“2023 was the hottest year in history — and Canada is warming faster than anywhere else on earth”
Gordon McBean discusses why Canada is warming alarmingly faster than other places on Earth and emphasizes the importance of proactively engaging with communities across Canada to build a climate-resilient society.
Gordon McBean, a WeCLISH member, eminent Climate Scientist, and Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography and Environment, published this article on The Conversation on January 11, 2024.
