New online tool allows people to learn about the Okanagan’s climate trends

The data is publicly available and comes from Environment Canada, Water Survey Canada, and the Province of B.C.

Through the dashboard, people are able to follow the data and see any trends.

“It’s completely normal for, when we look in the past [between the 1940s] and the ’70s, for it to go up and down. Some years are warmer, some years are colder, that variability is normal and what we’d expect,” Schira said.

“However, what we start to see when we get closer to the present day is we start to lose colder years. We see since the year 2000, around 2006, was slightly colder than normal, but that’s the only year for basically 25 years, as opposed to before when it was going up and down. So we’re seeing this consistent pattern, and that consistent pattern is really what we’re talking about with climate change, it’s that we’re seeing this shift and what that normal oscillation looked like isn’t exactly how it is now.”

Other data showed through the dashboard includes the number of days when the local temperatures reached above 30°C or when the minimal temperature was below 0°C, annual and average precipitation levels, and the dates of peak freshet events, and the Okanagan’s average temperature increases compared to the global figures.

“We’re really hoping that this tool set, this dashboard, allows people to investigate and look at different aspects of climate, to ask questions and dig in and look around,” Schira stated.

“There’s a lot of different things, there’s over 300 graphs, but there’s a lot of cool stuff to see and really interesting trends and things that maybe don’t have trends that you would have expected to have trends.

“It’s important [to note] that we’re going to be updating it moving forward and it provides a sort of reference point.”

The dashboard was launched with the aim of providing the general public with information on trends and historical data, and there are no projections included in the online tool, though the information can also be used to help guide policy and municipal planning.

“From a local government perspective, having this data is incredibly important because this is non-judgemental, real data, and when you’re trying to make plans for going forward, you need to have the real data there,” Blair Ireland, Chair of the OBWB and Mayor of Lake Country, stated.

“Last year, with the extended growing season, we had to keep agricultural water going for an extra two months. So we need to make a plan for that, it hasn’t happened before. I think most people aren’t aware that 70 per cent of the water we use in the Okanagan Valley goes to agriculture, so if we’re going to provide water for everyone, we really have to be aware of what those water uses are going to be.

“Seeing those trends growing hotter, we’re going to have to plan on how we build our parks, we’re going to have to plan shade into that; we’re going to have to look at potential cooling centres for people who don’t have air conditioning, so how are we going to look after the elderly in our community. There’s so much that’s so important to municipalities here, even just planning a sidewalk in your community, you’re going to need to have shade. If you have long stretch of blocks that are out in the open, you’re going to need to plan some sort of shade for those kinds of things.”

The dashboard itself does not include any recommendations or suggested actions, though it was noted the OBWB also has a number of educational resources on its website for addressing climate change, conserving water, and preparing for emergencies.

by Liam Verster

New online tool allows people to learn about the Okanagan’s climate trends

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