Article content

The recent news that Canada is, on average, warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world is a major concern for British Columbians. Here on the West Coast, many people already have firsthand experience with the impacts and new realities that spiral from widespread warming and more extreme extremes. And, last week’s federal report, Canada’s Changing Climate, reminds us that the raging forest fires, parched landscapes and devastating floods that British Columbians have lived through in recent years are here to stay, and will be a lasting part of our shared future.

Across B.C., climate impacts are being felt, first and foremost, in the water: As the climate changes, the hydrologic cycle undergoes mass fluctuation.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Natasha Overduin, Rosie Simms and Oliver Brandes: If climate change is the shark, water is its teeth and they're sinking in Back to video

Take the Cowichan watershed on Vancouver Island, which is currently experiencing an unprecedented spring drought. Droughts have become regular occurrences across the Island during the heat of summer, but to have no rain during the wettest time of year? That is completely new, and the past offers us no guide on how to respond. Or, look at Grand Forks, whose residents are still struggling to pay bills associated with property damage (an estimated $38 million) from last year’s historic flood in the Kettle River. And even B.C.’s historically water-rich Skeena region, with its globally iconic wild-salmon runs, suffered a drought last fall. The region experienced record-breaking drops in river levels that may be persisting into the new year, creating an entirely new category of problem: the winter drought.