Table 3 Climate information services in the Canadian Arctic

Scientific weather information has been widely distributed and used in the Canadian Arctic over the years, however it is limited in several ways. For instance, the weather can change very quickly in the region yet quick updates to forecasts are not always available. The scientific information distributed also lacks detailed forecasts on wind, yet abrupt shifts in wind direction, winds that pick up without notice, and an increase in south/southeast winds are all common and recurring weather concerns which impact on livelihoods in the region. Scientific weather information around storm surges has also not been very reliable since this depends on accurate information on wind characteristics such as speed and direction. A number of indigenous communities in the region have however relied on local observations and explanations around such phenomena as clouds, wind, the sky, wildlife behaviour, direction of the tide-flow, snow drifts and direction of currents to correctly predict various weather and climatic changes in wind direction, temperature, storm surges and precipitation. This indigenous knowledge is however underrepresented in general climate information services and climate change research in the region. As advanced in this paper, one of the ways of ensuring the successful implementation of the SDGs in regions like the Canadian Arctic would be to take steps towards creating platforms on which scientific and local weather and climate information are integrated and distributed in similar ways. This calls for the recognition and appreciation of hitherto marginalised voices of indigenous communities in forecasting weather and climatic changes, towards creating fit-for-purpose, credible and relevant climate information services in the region.