Focus on Arts and Ecology

By Josie Kao, August 5, 2021 

Summers are no longer a simple respite from long Canadian winters. They now mean facing the new horrors of climate change. Tragedies such as the wildfires engulfing the continent are an annual fixture in the news, but Manitoba is currently experiencing a threat that is less-seen but no less dangerous — a devastating and relentless drought.

The Prairies have long struggled with seasonal water shortages but the climate crisis is amplifying the impact of droughts.

“These droughts occurred in the past because of some natural climate processes, some climate patterns that diverted the water to other parts of North America,” Dave Sauchyn, the director of the University of Regina’s Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative, told The Narwhal for a recent on-the-ground feature by contributor Sarah Lawryniuk.

“But they are now occurring in a warming climate where there is more water loss… Our summers are getting longer, our winters are getting shorter. And so there are more days in which we’re losing water each year. And so when we have a combination of a lack of precipitation, and more days of water loss, you can expect that in a warming climate, the droughts have greater impact and severity.”

The Canadian Drought Monitor has deemed all of southern Manitoba to be under varying degrees of drought. Large portions of the province are under an exceptional drought — the most severe category.

This has been disastrous for farmers like Tom and Cam Johnson, a father and son duo who run a farm in Oak Point, Man. They’re smack dab in the middle of a region experiencing some of the worst drought conditions in Manitoba’s recent history. 

“It was hard enough before — just farming in general. It was tough to make a living out of it. But then you throw this on top, it’s pretty near impossible,” Cam said.

The Johnsons have had to scramble to adapt to the exceptionally dry conditions, such as constructing makeshift troughs for their cows since water in lowlands and ditches has disappeared — and water troughs are sold out across the province.

This situation is worrying not just for farmers like the Johnsons, but for all Canadians. More than 80 per cent of Canada’s agricultural lands are in the Prairies, meaning that changes to the climate there have the potential to destabilize food security.

It’s a bleak look at what’s to come if nothing is done to address these worsening drought conditions. Provincial and federal governments are promising aid, but for some ranchers it’s already too late. For others, they can only wait and pray for rain. 

Take care and conserve water,

Josie Kao
Assistant editor

(Sources: The Narwhal)