Weather vs. Climate
This describes short-term conditions like today’s temperature, wind, or snowfall.
weather
This frozen layer forms on the Arctic Ocean each winter and melts in summer.
sea ice
This famous Arctic predator depends on sea ice to hunt seals.
Polar Bear
This town is the largest community in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR)
Inuvik
This word means adjusting to climate impacts, such as creating and upgrading energy-efficient homes.
Adaptation
This describes the long-term average pattern of weather in a region over many years.
climate
This large river in the ISR is affected by flooding and thawing land.
The Mackenzie River
This chain of relationships between plants, animals, and predators can be disrupted by climate change.
Food chain (or web)
This Arctic coastal community faces serious shoreline erosion due to climate change.
Tuktoyaktuk
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are examples of these gases that trap heat in the atmosphere.
Greenhouse Gases
What is climate change?
a change in global or regional climate patterns
This natural process along the Arctic coast is speeding up as waves and thawing permafrost eat away the shoreline.
coastal erosion
This Arctic fish species found in northern rivers and lakes is sensitive to warming water temperatures.
Arctic Char
Knowledge about the land, animals, and weather passed down through generations of the Inuvialuit helps scientists study environmental change.
(Inuvialuit) Traditional Knowledge
Moving buildings or infrastructure away from eroding coastlines is known as this climate response strategy.
Relocation
A snowstorm is an example of this.
weather
Much of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) borders this Arctic sea, where sea ice is decreasing.
The Beaufort Sea
Inuvialuit have traditionally relied on these marine mammals for food, clothing, and tools.
Seals
Melting ice can make this winter transportation route more dangerous.
Ice roads
These instruments orbit Earth and help scientists track Arctic ice and temperatures.
Satellites
Climate is usually measured over a period of about this many years.
30 years
This type of frozen ground stores carbon and can release greenhouse gases when it thaws.
permafrost
Warming temperatures may change migration patterns for this large Arctic caribou population that travels between Alaska, Yukon, and the NWT.
Porcupine Caribou herd
This group of Indigenous peoples have land rights and self-governance in the ISR.
Inuvialuit
Programs that track temperature, wildlife, and ice conditions are known as this.
Climate Monitoring