Prince Edward Island is vulnerable to climate change. We can expect warmer weather, more rain, less snow, more storms and rising sea level. As PEI is sinking, the rate of sea-level rise is higher than in other parts of the world.

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On average, warmer weather is on the way. Temperatures are expected to be about 4 to 5 °C warmer in this century. That means there will be a longer growing season. Warmer weather in winter will also mean less snow will fall and less will stay on the ground. Pests will survive the winter more easily.

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We can expect to get more rain, except in the summer. Amounts of rain and snow will go up by 4 to 10 per cent, that's about 120 mm more than usual in some areas.

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More rain or snow may fall at once rather than a few mm or cm at a time. This can cause flooding and make getting around our communities during these events more difficult.

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We should look at which coastal areas need protecting, which might be abandoned to the rising sea, and how the changing coastline will affect our plans for future development.

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Over the next 100 years, we will get more storms than we have in the past, and they will likely be more intense. We will need to make better plans for emergencies, as is evident from what is happening elsewhere in the world.

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Our provincial tree, the Red Oak, will thrive in the warmer, wetter climate. On the other hand, the White Spruce, our most common tree, will suffer and start to die out. We need to plan for this change in forest species now, as trees have a long lifetime.

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The warmer and wetter weather, along with an increased level of CO2, will affect which crops we grow. Longer growing seasons may allow us to plant more winter cover crops. Different pests, weeds and fungi will become established.

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With more rain, there will be potentially more soil lost into our streams. Nitrogen and other chemicals may move at different rates through the ground. The rising sea level will cause saltwater intrusion into more wells.

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In the longer term, as oil runs out and parts of the country (and the world) become too dry to live in, people will migrate to more favourable areas such as the East Coast.

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There may be other, as yet unknown, impacts of climate change. Now is a good time to start looking at this problem, and your local watershed groups are well positioned to coordinate this process.