Indigenous knowledge and observations of current trends

The weather seems less stable and predictable.

"From sources of indigenous knowledge across the Arctic come reports that the weather seems more variable, unfamiliar, and is behaving unexpectedly and outside the norm. Experienced hunters and elders who could predict the weather using traditional techniques are now frequently unable to do so. Storms often occur without warning. Wind direction changes suddenly. In many places it is increasingly cloudy. Storms bringing high winds and lightning occur with increasing frequency in some locations. As noted by several elders, “the weather today is harder to know". This presents problems for many activities, from hunting to drying fish, on which Indigenous Peoples depend.

• "Right now the weather is unpredictable. In the older days, the elders used to predict the weather and they were always right, but right now, when they try to predict the weather, it's always something different." Z. Aqqiaruq, Igloolik, Canada, 2000
• "The periods of weather are no longer the norm. We had certain stable decisive periods of the year that formed the traditional norms. These are no longer at their places… Nowadays the traditional weather forecasting cannot be done anymore as I could before… For the markers in the sky we look now in vain… Heikki Hirvasvuopio, Kakslauttanen, Finland, 2002

Source & © ACIA Impacts of a Warming Arctic: Arctic Climate Impact Assessment  (2004),
 Key Finding #8, p.96