A monthly update of the Canadian Drought Monitor shows almost all of Prince Edward Island in the red, representing a state of “extreme drought,” with a small area around Wood Islands a little better off with only “severe drought” conditions.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada posted the updated map, based on data from Aug. 31, this week.
As for the Atlantic region, only parts of Labrador showed normal conditions, with areas on the island of Newfoundland ranging from “abnormally dry” to “exceptional drought,” especially on parts of the Avalon Peninsula stricken by forest fires this summer.
Most of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia ranged from “moderate drought” to “severe drought” conditions.
“At the end of the month, 72 per cent of the Atlantic Region was classified as abnormally dry (D0) or in moderate to extreme drought (D1 to D3), including 100 per cent of the region’s agricultural landscape,” text accompanying the map said.
The text also said that New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and southwestern Nova Scotia got less than a quarter of their normal precipitation for the month of August. As well:
“Fire bans and restrictions on land use, water conservation, and water delivery were established to reduce impacts,” the Canadian Drought Monitor text said.
“Low water conditions prompted industrial restrictions in forested areas, while below-normal rivers and reservoirs continue to raise concerns over water supply… Water shortages affected municipalities and groundwater-reliant residents, leading to conservation notices and mandatory restrictions in several communities. Crop losses have been reported as irrigation ponds and wells dry up.”
The lack of rainfall has also left most of the region with tinder-dry forests and grasslands, even in historically damp eastern Newfoundland.
“On the Avalon Peninsula, wildfires forced evacuations near St. John’s, and the town of Sunnyside declared a state of emergency after reservoirs ran dry, requiring manual pumping to maintain supply,” the text said.
As for Prince Edward Island, the monitor showed that drought intensified rapidly compared to the previous month, “with the entire province now in extreme drought (D3), a 2- to 3-drought-class jump from July.”
Prince Edward Island potato farmers brace for crop losses due to this summer’s lack of rain
On Prince Edward Island, August rainfall ranged from only 10 to 35 millimetres in most places.
Normal rainfall for the month at the Charlottetown Airport recording station would be 96.3 millimetres, as calculated by Environment Canada for the period from 1991-2020. That station got 12 millimetres in August.
The three-month summer rainfall total at Charlottetown Airport was 159 millimetres, only about 60 per cent the normal amount. Elsewhere on the Island, volunteer station totals ranged from 120 millimetres to 190 millimetres, which is 50 to 70 per cent of the normal 230-270 millimetre range for the Island.
