Our country saw the highest recorded year for wildfires, according to Environment Canada's Top Ten Weather Stories for 2018.

The detailed report tells of all major weather events across the nation, citing while Canada is still the snowiest country, less snow is falling in the Foothills and southern regions of the province.

Scientists from Environment and Climate Change Canada have discovered a clear link between climate change and extreme weather events, including heat waves, wild fires, flooding and sea ice disappearance.

For the 12- month period from December 2017 through November 2018, every season came out warmer, with an average of 0.4 degrees celsius above normal temperatures.

National statistics show that there were more wildfires than ever this past year, and the total area burned was double the long term averages. Firefighters from across Canada, the United States, Mexico, Australia and New Zeland were joined by military to battle the blazes.

The 2018 summer is said to be the third warmest on record, with the Calgary area hitting a new all-time record on August 10th, making national headlines as the temperature soared to 36.5 degrees celsius, a record dating back as far as 1881.

Farmers and ranchers across the prairies faced significant challenges, as between April and August, Alberta and the prairie provinces received less than 60 per cent of the average rainfall, with some areas seeing the lowest rain recorded in at least 40 years.

The report highlights, in depth, the challenges faced by farmers, ranchers and growers, due to the extended length of hot and dry periods, and early winter, cold and snow that set in right at the start of harvest season.

Other highlights for Alberta include Calgary's early August hail storm, sudden ice melting and jamming triggering Alberta flooding, and Calgary's October snow-mageddon, among many others.

Other extreme weather events are listed in this detailed report, including the BC and other wildfires producing records of the smokiest year on record, in addition to the most wildfires on record.

The full report can be found by clicking here: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/top-ten-weather-stories/2018.html?fbclid=iwar3khcvvis2u4izsccgr3njz806retrgyxbyblpn5sijz6fzk7so9ij3_to