Using data gathered from century-old White Pass and Yukon Route railway logbooks, Yukon College students have confirmed the territory is indeed getting warmer.

On Wednesday, students in Mark Shumelda's introduction to statistics class presented their results in a year-end project.

Among other findings, they discovered that Carmacks has seen a increase of 11.86 degrees over a 100-year period on average for the month of February.

Similarly, the temperature in Carcross has risen by three degrees for the month of January.

During their presentation at the college, the students detailed the information they had extrapolated using weather data from the railway's log books dating back to 1902.

Last year, the data were released by White Pass, and are now available through the Yukon Research Centre's data server.

The students also used more recent information from Environment Canada to reach their conclusions.

On the walls of Shumelda's classroom, displays by each group of about four students who worked on specific regions showed graphs comparing temperature averages, mean temperatures and so on.

While each group researched a different area of the territory, all the groups noted in their presentations that weather is becoming more extreme.

There have also been changes in the length of seasons in many regions.

"Our falls and springs are actually extending,” said Vishnu Kolothumkattil, who was part of the group researching Whitehorse.

While the students used much of their data from the railway's historic information, a number pointed to imperfections in the data.

Some locations had weather information recorded daily, while others did not. It also wasn't known if the temperatures were recorded in the same spot at the same time or what equipment was used to get the temperature.

"We did recognize there were some gaps in our data,” said another student, who was part of the group researching the weather of Dawson City, noting more recent data from Environment Canada provided more reliable data as they're taken at the same place and same time on a consistent basis.

"We definitely learned there's a huge variation in Dawson City,” said sciences student Faith Green, noting Dawson too is experiencing the warming trend seen in other parts of the territory.

Students had been working on their final projects for about the last two months, Shumelda said in an interview following the presentations.

"We spent a lot of hours on it,” he said. "I'm really pleased.”

Shumelda said he tries to come up with a project for his introduction to statistics class each semester involving the students' every day lives.

"Weather is a common factor which affects every industry and way of life,” he said.

"There is great educational benefit in having students not only apply what they are learning, but with data sets that are relevant to their communities and to all Yukoners.”

It's one thing to anecdotally speak of the territory becoming warmer, but the projects show exactly what is happening.

As the students did, Shumelda acknowledged that the data from the White Pass log books may have certain faults, such as not being collected at the same time and place every day.

However, he noted it's the only information available prior to Environment Canada records beginning in the 1940s.

"It's a start,” Shumelda said.

The project also fit with the college's recently released strategic plan committing the school to expanding research opportunities involving students.

As college president Karen Barnes said, "This student research project is an example of how Yukon College is working hard to provide research opportunities for our students, whether it is in the classroom, through directed studies or through employment opportunities at the Yukon Research Centre.”

While it marks the final project for students in the class this semester, Shumelda is already envisioning future year-end finals that could expand on it, including making weather predictions for Yukon communities.

That could be done in collaboration with work already underway at the research centre's Northern Climate ExChange.