Canadians to benefit from more accurate and timely weather forecasts
January 15, 2015 – Calgary, Alberta – Environment Canada
The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Minister for the Arctic Council, announced today a major investment to improve the quality of weather forecasts and weather warnings to Canadians. Through this investment, Canadians will have access to more reliable and accurate weather forecasts based on the most modern technology available.
This $134 million investment will allow Environment Canada to make significant upgrades to the monitoring networks and to the weather warning and forecast systems. With these upgrades, Environment Canada will communicate weather warnings even more accurately and with more lead time to Canadian citizens and weather sensitive business sectors, such as agriculture, tourism and transportation, enabling them to be better prepared.
The weather, water and climate data used by Environment Canada to produce warnings and forecasts is provided by a set of observing networks across the country that includes:
- weather radars;
- land-based and marine surface weather and climate stations;
- upper air stations (balloon-borne instruments called radiosondes);
- the Canadian Lightning Detection Network; and,
- satellite ground receiving stations that receive Canadian and international satellite data.
Ted Laking
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of the Environment
819-997-1441
Media Relations
Environment Canada
819-934-8008
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