Iqaluit

Over the past five years, there has been a steady increase in the number of dandelions spread throughout the surrounding area of Iqaluit.

“Our shipping monitors clocked another cruise ship going at excessive speed near Pond Inlet,” posted Baffinland Iron Mines on their Twitter account Sept. 22. While the maximum speed was agreed at nine knots in some passages used by the cruise ships, one ship in particular, The Hanseatic from Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, was clocked at almost 16 knots, nearly twice the velocity. It’s the second time this month the cruise line has been clocked in excess of the speed limit agreement.

The Canadian Armed Forces has begun setting up two water purification units at the Sylvia Grinnell River on Monday morning to help Nunavut’s capital with its ongoing water emergency. The military had been waiting for the City of Iqaluit’s approval before setting up the units. The two parties agreed on the location Sunday night, said

October is off to a warm start for parts of Nunavut. Justin Shelley, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, says an upper ridge of high pressure is drawing up warmer than normal air into the territory.

Karen Dunmall, a biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said pink salmon normally prefer warmer waters than the Arctic has been able to provide. But with the Arctic warming at up to three times the rate of the rest of the world, its waters are becoming more approachable for newcomers like this species.

Lightning struck in Iqaluit during a storm on Sunday. Terri Lang, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s meteorologist for Nunavut, said the department's weather system did not pick up how many times lightning struck, but that it did occur in the region.

The landfill in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, is overfull, but the hamlet can’t open a new landfill until it can pay to decommission the old one, says hamlet Mayor Harry Towtongie. A new environmental report says bad dumps are a problem in all of Canada's Inuit regions.

The warm spell, which is expected to last into the last week of January, is the result of a low-pressure cyclonic system of warm air from the south.

Newspaper of record for Nunavut, and the Nunavik territory of Quebec

Iqaluit saw record rainfall yesterday, creating turbulent streams. Heavy precipitation may lead to fat berries and caribou, and lots of mosquitoes.

An emergency project to pump water from Unnamed Lake started in mid-August, and has been successful. The city's reservoir at Lake Geraldine is projected to be filled ten days ahead of schedule.

Blockage at the city's main lift station has forced sewage to overflow into the bay, so it doesn't back into people's homes.

Popular hunting spots, such as Frobisher's Farthest, Pink Lady Island and Ward Inlet should be avoided, says the chair of the Amaruq Hunters and Trappers Association.

Nunavut is bracing for another day where wind gusts could reach 140 km/h after severe weather sent debris flying through the streets of the territory's capital overnight.

Stantec engineering designed the plans for pumping water from the Apex River to Lake Geraldine, the city's reservoir, which has lower water levels than in years past.

Nunavut experienced some 'strange' weather in the past few days, causing shipping containers to fly through one community and muddy puddles in another.

What has eight hairy legs, one eye, no mouth and haunts the frigid waters below the frozen ocean? A speck of a creature you'd never know exists in Canada's Arctic, were it not for one researcher's accidental discovery off the shores of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.

'Attention!!! Huge polar bear up running after birds behind Tasilik street!!!' Christine Boucher-Wight posted on the Iqaluit Public Service Announcement Facebook page.

While it researches long-term solutions, Iqaluit is looking at small fixes, like flexible pipe connectors, to stop pipes from breaking and leaking.

Looking at a map of Arctic Canada, it seems there are literally thousands of lakes and rivers, yet many Arctic communities are facing water shortages or threats of shortages to come. Iqaluit, capital of Nunavut Territory, will be facing that problem in the very near future.

Andrew Medeiros (PhD)