2022 in Manitoba began with snow and lots of it.
It led to spring flooding across the province and a record-breaking fall.
“The all-time yearly precipitation record in Winnipeg was broken in October on October 24,” Environment and Climate Change meteorologist Sara Hoffman said.
At that point 739.7 mm had fallen.
By the time Jan. 1, 2023 rolls around, that record will be even higher.
“With climate change we do expect wetter than normal years but the same is true for the flip side of that as well,” Hoffman said.
Other major weather events this year include five tornadoes touching down in Manitoba which is slightly down from the eight-yearly average.
Besides weather, many climate initiatives also became more prominent in 2022.
The federal government set a goal to have zero-emission vehicles make up all new purchases by 2035. Manitobans have bought more EV’s this year compared to last but are still far behind other provinces.
The carbon tax, and the rebates, are also impacting households and businesses.
“In Manitoba alone, the carbon tax is costing the average family about $300 this year even after the rebates,” Canadian Taxpayers Federation Federal director Franco Terrazzan said.
“Next year, that’s going to cost the average family $400 in Manitoba even after the rebate.”
Another wave of climate initiatives came as recently as a week and a half ago.
Importing and manufacturing single-use plastics is no longer allowed in Canada, meaning many products are becoming compostable.
“Having compostable packaging is only good if you have a means to process it,” Karrie Blackburn with Compost Winnipeg said.
“With us, we can absolutely accept those items but if they go into the landfill, it becomes moot. It doesn’t decompose the way it’s intended because it doesn’t have the right conditions.”
Further bans around single plastic use in this country will come into effect in summer of 2023.
As for the weather before then: “We are expecting the winter to be recorded as colder than normal,” Hoffman said.
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