BC’s Extreme Weather
BEN NELMS/CBC
July 2021 was the hottest month ever recorded worldwide. With rising sea levels, heavy winds and rainfalls, the usual weather in BC has taken a drastic turn as the Climate Crisis takes its toll on the province.
November conditions caused Environment Canada to issue its first ever red alert for BC. Red alerts are dangerous weather systems that are expected to push more atmospheric rivers into the province, according to CNN. Rainfall warnings had also been issued all over the east and west of Vancouver Island, and wind warnings had been set for several coastal areas of BC. Over the summer, rainy weather may have seemed like a miracle considering the burning heat, months later rain forced evacuations and damaged infrastructures throughout the province.
BC’s weather has changed substantially over the years. These changes are primarily caused by the Climate Crisis. With rising greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, climate scientists believe there will be more extreme heat waves in BC, as well as in other provinces across Canada. According to the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, the annual temperature in BC will rise by 2.5 °C by 2050, even if greenhouse gas emissions are halved. This may not sound like a big change now, but unless the government and people of BC take extreme actions to reduce greenhouse gases, the weather in this province, and Canada in general, will continue to get worse.
During the summer of 2021, BC experienced a record-breaking heatwave as a result of a ‘heat dome’ of ozone pollution. Heat domes are caused when the atmosphere traps hot ocean air in an area, almost as if it is being bound by a lid. An international team of climate scientists states that heatwaves are expected to become more frequent with Canada’s warming, at twice the global rate and up to three times in northern parts of the country. Research by the BC Coroners Service, states there were 569 heat-related deaths from June 20 to July 29, 445 of which occurred during the heat dome. “I saw paramedics who had burns on their knees from kneeling down to care for patients with heatstroke. I saw far too many patients die in the ED as a result of their heat exposure,” Jeremy Hess, a professor of environmental health sciences, global health and emergency medicine, stated during a press briefing.
The heatwave also had an impact on mental health. Many people are still struggling with trauma, anxiety and depression from this period. The more recent extreme weather events also had an impact on this, and we are even noticing what’s called pre-traumatic stress disorder, where people develop anxiety by watching what other people are going through and anticipating that they will undergo similar events. “There are pretty clear signals in the literature overall that extreme heat exposure is a risk for a number of different mental health concerns. This extends up to and includes suicide,” Hess explained.
The hot weather BC experienced in the summer is not where this story ends. The heatwave also had a significant effect on the crops of Fraser Valley and Okanagan; two major fruit-growing regions where up to 95 per cent of soft fruits in BC are grown. Pinder Dhaliwal, president of the BC Fruit Growers Association, said the heatwave wrecked an estimated 50 to 70 per cent of cherry crops in the Okanagan.
The local businesses and farming crops are not the only ones impacted by the extreme weather in BC. It is shown that climate change is also threatening Indigenous communities, specifically by hindering Indigenous knowledge–a form of teaching acquired by local people through accumulated experiences and the understanding of the environment in a given culture. According to UNESCO, “For over 350 million Indigenous people worldwide, climate change impacts are expected to be early and severe due to their location in high risk environments. This includes nomadic pastoralists living along desert margins, horticulturalists and fishers in small and low-lying islands, farmers and pastoralists in high-altitudinal zones, and hunters and herders across the circumpolar Arctic.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier John Horgan recently announced that a joint committee of federal and provincial ministers will work with Indigenous leadership to provide support to families, businesses, and communities affected by the extreme weather events in BC.
The extreme weather in BC has used up resources, taken lives, and made significant dents in the province’s economy. “It will be a growing concern in the future,” said Bobby Sekhon, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada addressing the heatwaves and other extreme weather events faced recently.
BC may have a chance to prevent future extreme weather problems if greenhouse gasses are reduced and government learns from its previous mistakes.