Inuit-led community weather network aims to enhance safety on land, ice

A new Inuit-led initiative is improving access to local weather data in Nunavut with the launch of Silanga.ca, a website dedicated to sharing information from community weather stations.

The website was developed by Silanniarviit, a group of community members who act as weather station managers. The platform, which went live last week, aims to enhance safety and decision-making for people travelling on the land, ice and water.

“It’s the communities that had asked for this type of weather service,” said Andrew Arreak, the weather station manager in Pond Inlet and the regional operations lead for SmartICE.

“We’re all like-minded individuals who would like better weather information systems for our local people to determine when to go out on the land or waters.”

The network consists of stations in Igloolik, Arctic Bay, Pond Inlet and Grise Fiord, with Sanirajak expected to be added soon. The locations of the stations — which consist of equipment protected in a metal case, installed on a tripod that’s about 3.5 metres tall — were chosen by community members based on their travel routes and traditional harvesting areas.

The effort began in 2022 when community members expressed the need for weather stations to be located in areas where people hunt, camp, and travel — far from the airport-based stations that provide most existing weather data, said Arreak.

The stations were designed with Arctic conditions in mind. They are equipped with tools to measure wind speed and direction, as well as temperature and humidity sensors. A solar-powered battery system ensures year-round operation, and data is transmitted hourly via satellite.

The website features an interactive map, displaying information from community-maintained weather stations. But data is provided on a best-effort basis and accuracy is not always guaranteed, the website advises.

To address this, community members actively monitor and maintain the stations. They record conditions, take photos, and verify data accuracy.

“By documenting when we go to these stations, we are recording what the conditions are like in the area, so we can know that they are accurate,” Arreak said.

Andrew Arreak, the community weather station network manager in Pond Inlet, works to install a weather station on the land. (Photo courtesy of Derek Mueller)

The initiative also focuses on training local technicians to deploy and maintain the stations.

“It provides a bit of income for our technicians and educates them on why we have these weather stations, how they work, and who they’re for,” Arreak said.

David Didier, a coastal geography professor at the University of Quebec at Rimouski, worked with Terry Noah, owner of Ausuittuq Adventures, to install Grise Fiord’s first trial community weather station on Sept. 1.

Grise Fiord’s landscape and location on the southern coast of Ellesmere Island influences local weather, so additional stations are planned for in the area to provide more accurate wind and wave-impact assessments.

“Sharing with the youth knowledge about the land, having better understanding of the weather and how it affects the coast, as well as being able to better predict what will happen in [the communities’] hunting areas is one of the goals,” Didier said.

He worked closely with Noah on past research projects in Grise Fiord, including studying coastal erosion and its impact on the community in 2021.

As Silanga.ca continues to develop, Arreak said he is optimistic about its potential.

“The website is still in progress, and we’re improving it,” he said.

“It’s also in Inuktitut as well as English, which strengthens our language for younger generations who are now using digital tools more often.”

The initiative has received funding from the federal Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring program and ArcticNet.

However, maintaining and expanding the network remains a challenge.

“Funding is a big deal to run these stations,” Arreak said. “It ensures they are maintained and that our technicians receive an income for their work.”

On Feb. 18, Arreak and other community members gathered in Iqaluit for a weeklong workshop focused on enhancing community weather monitoring. The event provided a platform to discuss the project, exchange knowledge and collaborate on future improvements.

As more communities take interest, both Arreak and Didier said they hope the project can expand further.