fidzu : cms

See how we seamlessly integrated WooCommerce with the Autenti system without affecting the checkout process.

28 May 2026 12:04pm GMT

Climate data are shaping decisions everywhere, from infrastructure and public health to agriculture, insurance, emergency preparedness, and urban planning. Yet despite the growing importance of this information, climate data can still be surprisingly difficult to use.

The challenge is not a lack of science. In many cases, the problem is the opposite: there are an overwhelming amount of data available. What's often missing is an experience that helps people explore and understand complex information in ways that feel approachable, intuitive, and useful.

Together with Luqia, we redesigned the ClimateData.ca platform around a simple but important idea: climate data become more accessible when people can explore them for themselves. Rather than treating information as something users simply download or read through, the new platform encourages interaction and discovery through maps, filtering tools, and guided exploration.

The goal was never to simplify science. It was to make navigating climate data feel clearer, more intuitive, and more connected to the real-world questions people are trying to answer.

What is ClimateData.ca?

ClimateData.ca is a free, bilingual platform that gives Canadians access to climate projections and historical data to support real-world decision-making.

At its core, it is a data visualization and download platform. You can browse interactive high-resolution maps, filter by sector or variable, explore graphs, and download raw datasets for your own analysis. The platform also includes educational materials and guidance on how to use climate information in decision-making.

Why it matters: Canada is warming fast

Canada is warming, on average, twice as much and twice as fast as the rest of the world. In Northern Canada, it's happening even faster (Canada's Changing Climate Report, ECCC, 2019). Across the country, the effects are already measurable: more extreme heat, shorter snow and ice seasons, earlier spring peak streamflow, thinning glaciers, thawing permafrost, and rising sea levels. All sectors of society and the economy are at risk, and further warming is described as effectively irreversible. The case for better data infrastructure is built into the science itself.

Feature focus #1: The Learning Zone

A key feature on the Climate Data platform is its Learning Zone, a filterable library of resources designed for users at every level and across sectors. A planner, engineer, health professional, educator, or community organization may come to the platform with very different questions, levels of technical knowledge, and regional concerns. The redesigned Learning Zone gives users a more accessible entry point into the science before they move into maps, datasets, or projections.

Content types include videos, podcasts, interactive tools, articles, case studies, sector overviews, and regional profiles. Resources can be filtered by region (Atlantic, North, Ontario, Pacific, Prairies, Québec) and technical level.

Feature focus #2: Seasonal to Decadal forecasting

Climate data are most useful when they help people understand patterns rather than react to isolated events. Conditions naturally shift from season to season, year to year, and decade to decade, shaped by factors like ocean-atmosphere cycles, volcanic activity, and broader climate trends. El Niño and La Niña are familiar examples: these recurring patterns can influence temperature and precipitation in a given season or year, including during El Niño conditions like those forecast this year. That variability is part of what makes climate information complex: a single warm season or cool year can stand out, but it does not always tell the full story.

Historical reference periods give users a more stable baseline for interpreting what they are seeing, whether they are looking at recent conditions, short-term forecasts, or longer-term projections. In the Seasonal to Decadal (S2D) tool, forecasts are shown against the 1991-2020 historical reference period, helping users understand whether projected conditions are likely to fall above, below, or near a recent baseline rather than viewing them in isolation.

The underlying data come from CanSIPSv3 (the Canadian Seasonal to Interannual Prediction System, version 3), developed by ECCC. It uses two coupled atmosphere-ocean-land climate models (CanESM5 and GEM5.2-NEMO) with an ensemble of 40 model simulations. This forecasting layer bridges the gap between short-term weather forecasts and the longer-horizon multi-decade projections the platform is better known for.

Feature focus #3: The Maps tool

We redesigned the platform's interactive maps tool to shift from a download-focused experience to an exploratory one. Rather than treating climate data as something users simply retrieve and interpret elsewhere, the interface is built to support comparison and discovery directly in the browser.

The maps tool covers more than 45 climate variables, including specific indicators such as Hottest Day, Frost-Free Season, Cooling Degree Days, and Freeze-Thaw Cycles. Users can compare emissions scenarios side by side, switch between projected change and absolute values, and navigate data through multiple geographic views (watersheds, health regions, census subdivisions, and grid cells) depending on the context of their work. The front end is built in React, designed to keep interaction smooth as users move between datasets and scenarios.

That geographic flexibility matters because different users approach climate impacts differently. Infrastructure planners, public health teams, researchers, and policy makers often need completely different spatial perspectives and levels of detail from the same underlying data.

The data behind the platform

The platform's projection datasets are built on rigorous scientific foundations. The primary future projection dataset, CanDCS-M6, shows how temperature and precipitation conditions may change across Canada under four possible emissions scenarios. It uses data from 26 climate models and maps results at a relatively local scale, with grid cells of about 6 by 10 kilometres. A companion dataset, CanDCS-U6, covers three emissions scenarios across the same 26-model suite.

The platform also includes more specialized datasets for climate-related risks, including drought, extreme heat and humidity, sea level rise, coastal infrastructure planning, and extreme rainfall. These help users move from broad climate projections to more specific questions, such as where drought stress may increase, how often heat may become dangerous, how coastal infrastructure may need to adapt by the end of the century, or how stormwater systems should be designed for heavier rainfall.

All datasets go through a formal evaluation process before being added to the portal. Every step involves representatives from all partner organizations, and respects strict data standards.

Who built ClimateData.ca?

ClimateData.ca is a collaborative product involving several of Canada's leading regional climate organizations: Ouranos (Québec), the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC), the Prairie Climate Centre, ClimateWest, CLIMAtlantic, and ORCAA-CRACO. Evolving Web built and maintains the platform alongside Luqia (formerly the Computer Research Institute of Montréal, CRIM), with overarching support from ECCC.

The bottom line

ClimateData.ca doesn't promise simple answers. Climate projections are probabilistic, scenario-dependent, and require careful interpretation. What the platform does offer is something genuinely valuable: a single, well-documented, freely accessible place where any Canadian can engage with the best available science on how their local climate is likely to change.

Given that Canada's own national climate report describes further warming as effectively irreversible, and that every sector of the economy faces risk, that kind of infrastructure matters, now more than ever.

Get in touch

If your organization is working with complex data and looking for ways to make it more accessible, interactive, and useful, we can help. From interactive maps and data-rich platforms to visualization tools and UX strategy, we work with organizations to create experiences that help people explore and understand information more effectively.

Get in touch to learn how we can help bring your data to life.

+ more awesome articles by Evolving Web

27 May 2026 8:07pm GMT

For Everyone: In-Context Customization Without the Learning Curve

Jürgen Haas Wed 27 May 2026 - 15:00

27 May 2026 1:00pm GMT