Okanagan climate projection report predicts big changes in coming decades

A climate projections report assembled through the cooperation of the Okanagan's three regional districts and a climate impact consortium says the Okanagan will experience significant changes to the climate in the coming decades.

The report, released today, Feb. 11, was a combined effort by the North, Central and Okanagan-Similkameen regional districts, along with the Pacific Climate Impact Consortium and Pinna Sustainability, according to a joint media release. The goal was to support local understanding of anticipated climate change in the Okanagan and provide advice on how to prepare for future climate events.

The report says climate change projections identified for the 2050s and 2080s indicate the Okanagan can expect significant change including:

• warmer temperatures year-round
• hotter summers
• a longer growing season
• warmer winter temperatures
• more precipitation for all seasons except summer
• drier summers
• shifting seasons

“This is one of the most important tools we have in preparing for our future as a region,” North Okanagan Regional District chair Kevin Acton says in the media release. “We need action now, and through this report, we have a clearer ideas of what to expect and how to adapt for the longevity of our communities."

“The modelling projections being completed by Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium will help local governments prepare for a range of possible scenarios," Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District chair Karla Kozakevich says in the release. "The report will also provide valuable data about the potential environmental and economic challenges impacting the Okanagan in the coming decades.”

The report can be found on the North Okanagan Regional District website here.

There will be a public launch of the report later this month during an event called "Building Community Resilience in a Changing Climate – An Evening with Sheila Watt-Cloutier and guests.” The presentation will include an overview of how the Okanagan’s climate is expected to change over the next three to six decades.

The event takes place at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 26 at the UBC Okanagan campus Commons Lecture Hall in Kelowna.

Tickets are available for purchase online here.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to tips@infonews.ca and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.