Digitization of Centuries of Canadian Weather Records Promises to Improve Climate Understanding

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Researchers have uncovered and digitized nearly two million 18th and 19th century weather observations from across Canada that offer new insights into how the country’s climate has changed over time.

Researchers have uncovered and digitized nearly two million 18th and 19th century weather observations from across Canada that offer new insights into how the country’s climate has changed over time.

The international project draws on handwritten records dating from 1768 to 1884. The data include temperature, precipitation, wind and detailed descriptions of such events as storms and floods.

“The paper is a data study, so in that sense we were looking for, documenting and transcribing meteorological observations from overseas archives, given Canada’s colonial history,” said Victoria Slonosky, an afiiliated researcher in the Department of Geography and lead author of a recent study in Scientific Data.

Read more at: McGill University

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