For more than 150 years, the stout and tidy Walton Harbour lighthouse in Nova Scotia has stood watch from a cliff overlooking the upper Bay of Fundy.

But in recent years, coastal erosion left the historic wooden tower perilously close to the cliff香蕉视频直播檚 edge, raising concerns that the community could lose a tourist draw and a link to its past.

香蕉视频直播淚n the past 10 years or so, the erosion has increased in speed,香蕉视频直播� says John Ogilvie, vice-president of the Walton Area Development Association. 香蕉视频直播淥n both sides, the cliff was coming inwards 香蕉视频直播�. We needed to find a way to protect a hugely important asset to our community.香蕉视频直播�

In November, the municipality set aside $100,000 to drag the lighthouse about 45 metres inland to safety. The costly move illustrates the real impact of climate change in a part of the country where the coastline is steadily retreating, sometimes at an alarming rate.

香蕉视频直播淐limate change isn香蕉视频直播檛 a future thing,香蕉视频直播� says Ogilvie, who is also the municipality香蕉视频直播檚 climate action co-ordinator. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 here and we香蕉视频直播檙e facing it down now 香蕉视频直播�. And that can mean putting up big money to change the way we do things.香蕉视频直播�

With 13,000 kilometres of coastline, Nova Scotia faces significant risks as storms intensify and seas rise. 香蕉视频直播淲e香蕉视频直播檙e seeing more storms and they香蕉视频直播檙e are getting stronger,香蕉视频直播� Ogilivie says. 香蕉视频直播淲e seeing that with the damage from hurricanes and the wild extremes in our weather.香蕉视频直播�

Research scientist Tim Webster, an expert on coastal issues, says data he has collected during the past 20 years show the province香蕉视频直播檚 shoreline is moving inland, on average, about 30 centimetres, or one foot, every year.

香蕉视频直播淏ut that香蕉视频直播檚 a little misleading because it香蕉视频直播檚 an episodic phenomenon,香蕉视频直播� says Webster, who leads the geomatics research group at the Nova Scotia Community College campus in Middleton, N.S. 香蕉视频直播淲e could have years go by where we don香蕉视频直播檛 have any erosion, and then you get a couple of big storms and all of a sudden you香蕉视频直播檝e eroded a few metres.香蕉视频直播�

He, too, says there香蕉视频直播檚 mounting evidence suggesting storms are becoming more intense and more frequent.

Nova Scotia and P.E.I. were battered by Hurricane Juan in 2003 and then lashed by post-Tropical Storm Dorian in 2019, but post-Tropical Storm Fiona in 2022 reached a new level of destruction, proving to be the costliest extreme weather event ever recorded in Atlantic Canada.

The storm surge recorded for Juan was 1.75 metres above regular tide levels along Nova Scotia香蕉视频直播檚 north shore, and Dorian wasn香蕉视频直播檛 far behind at 1.5 metres, Webster says. But Fiona was a beast, pushing tide gauges up by 2.4 metres.

香蕉视频直播淭hat was our wake-up call, suggesting this is what storms are going to be like in the future as the ocean is warming and as the climate is changing,香蕉视频直播� Webster said in an interview.

香蕉视频直播淚f Fiona was to happen every three or four years, it would not take long (for Nova Scotia香蕉视频直播檚 coastal erosion) to start moving in faster than one foot a year.香蕉视频直播�

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Prince Edward Island released a study last year that confirmed Fiona香蕉视频直播檚 storm surge on the Island香蕉视频直播檚 northwest shore was so high it disabled tide gauges. The extreme water level was not recorded.

The study noted that previous research had found the average rate of coastline change 香蕉视频直播� measured for the entire Island between 1968 and 2010 香蕉视频直播� was 28 centimetres per year. And subsequent research found the rate had increased to 40 centimetres annually between 2000 and 2010.

On the West Coast, the Canadian Coast Guard decided in July to permanently remove light keepers from two lighthouses along the southwest coast of Vancouver Island after a study found that some buildings at Carmanah Point and Pachena Point were unsafe because of unstable soil conditions.

香蕉视频直播淭he priority is to ensure the safety of the light keepers, who will be moved out of the buildings before the winter weather creates additional challenges,香蕉视频直播� the coast guard said in a statement.

香蕉视频直播淭he land underneath the 香蕉视频直播� light stations is not stable enough (and) 香蕉视频直播� increases the risk of a slope failure in the event of a large earthquake.香蕉视频直播�

At the Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation in P.E.I., researchers have determined that 17 of the Island香蕉视频直播檚 61 lighthouses and range lights are threatened by coastal erosion.

Lighthouses at East Point, Cape Bear, Rustico and Cape Egmont have already been moved, while shoreline protection has been added near the light stations at Point Prim, Beach Point, Souris and West Point.

Aside from lighthouses, the centre has identified more than 1,000 Island homes and cottages that are particularly vulnerable.

The P.E.I. study also noted a further complication from climate change: During the winter, reduced ice coverage around the Island has left shorelines unprotected from big waves stirred up by storms.

That remains a persistent problem in Annandale, P.E.I., where erosion had for years undermined the soil near the town香蕉视频直播檚 historic lighthouse, leaving one side hanging over the edge of the Broughton River, which empties into the town香蕉视频直播檚 harbour.

香蕉视频直播淎ll the storms you get in the fall and afterwards, and the high tides and storm surges, it just pounds at (the shore),香蕉视频直播� says local resident Greg Norton, whose ancestors operated the tall, narrow lighthouse for generations.

香蕉视频直播淪he went through a couple hurricanes and we thought for sure she would be gone 香蕉视频直播�. I香蕉视频直播檇 say we lose a foot (of the riverbank) here every year.香蕉视频直播�

The 19-metre wooden lighthouse, built in 1901, was moved about 30 metres inland to Norton香蕉视频直播檚 property in 2020. For the past two years, his family has been operating the building as an Airbnb rental property.

In Walton, N.S., the town香蕉视频直播檚 rescued lighthouse is now opened every summer to offer stunning views of the Bay of Fundy香蕉视频直播檚 world-record tides. Its white clapboard sides and red-capped lantern room present a postcard-perfect image of life in the Maritimes.

Ogilvie says visitors to the only original lighthouse in the county can still smell the kerosene that was used in its original flat-wick lamps.

香蕉视频直播淧eople should see the moving of the lighthouse as something that was necessary because the erosion was right there,香蕉视频直播� he says. 香蕉视频直播淲e really need to work as communities and together as a province and a country to really address an issue that is here and now.香蕉视频直播�

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press