Press release 2011-01-17 at 12:00
Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) and the University of Oulu
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Photo: Esko Kuusisto
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On 18 January, an international symposium will bring scientists from Europe to Oulu to discuss the challenges caused by climate change for our use of water systems, water protection, and how the European Union is to take up these challenges. Oulu will welcome approximately a hundred scientists, from 11 countries, to discuss these challenges – amid the conditions of Nordic winter.
The European Union will have a significant role in providing solutions to the climate change challenges facing the water sector. Dr Peter Kristensen from the European Environment Agency points out that in the last decade, Europe experienced at least 175 significant flood events. These led to loss of life, massive evacuation operations, and significant financial harm. In addition, drought and water shortages caused further problems. A new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) concludes that in the study period 1998-2009 the overall losses added up to about EUR 52 billion for floods. Climate change will exacerbate these extreme weather events, decrease water quality, and complicate the lives of many species.
Also of relevance for Finland – and for many other countries in Europe – may be whether climate change has also caused the return of harsh winters. In Kristensen's native Denmark, on the island of Bornholm, an official measuring station recorded snow depth of 140 cm on 28 December 2010, and on windy places houses were virtually buried under snow.
In some parts of Southern Finland, the last winter was the snowiest for 25 years, and in the capital region, Christmas in 2010 was the snowiest since 1965. And last autumn, the vast open surfaces of Finnish lakes were frozen over several weeks earlier than the averages obtained from 1991–2009 would suggest.
‘Statistically, however, these events are not that rare. Significantly more rare occurrences are, for example, the virtually non-existent snow cover in Southern Finland during the winter of 2007–2008; the snow load maximum then, which was only 10–15% of the long-term mean maximum; and Tehinselkä, on the lake Päijänne, achieving ice cover only on 16 February 2008. The heavy snowfall in the capital region again this Christmas is a statistical anomaly, on a par only with that of the scarcity of snow in Southern Lapland. On 6 January 2011, some parts of Posio, in Southern Lapland, had a mere fifth of the amount of snow present in Helsinki,’ says Dr Esko Kuusisto of Finnish Environment Institute.
Climate change is not expected to reduce the snowfall in all regions. Around 2050, Siberia may experience 20–30% heavier snows than in the current climate, because the amount of precipitation will increase and it still will be coming down as snow. In Finland, however, the winter’s snow maximum may well be halved, especially in southern parts if the country.
‘When we feel fed up with long periods of extremely low temperatures, it may be worth thinking about the Arctic regions. Over there, the beginning of the winter has mostly been 6–10 degrees warmer than usual,’ says Dr Kuusisto.
The Symposium on Climate Change & River Basin Management is being held on 17 to 19 January 2011 at the University of Oulu. It is organised by Finnish Environment Institute SYKE and the Thule Institute of the University of Oulu, as a collaborative effort of seven projects funded by the EU, the Academy of Finland, and some Finnish ministries. These projects focus on developing new assessment methods and tools for the planning of river basin management in a changing climate, as well as on studying the effects of climate change on groundwater, natural ecosystems, and people living in northern regions.
Further information
Dr Esko Kuusisto, SYKE, tel. +358 (0)40 831 9165
Information officer Ulla Sonck, SYKE Communications,
tel. +358 (0)40 740 2186
e-mail address format: firstname.surname@ymparisto.fi