No notices at this time.
No notices at this time.
What is extreme heat and drought? How will it affect me?
Extreme Heat is when daytime and nighttime temperatures get hotter every day and are well above seasonal norms. Extreme heat is dangerous for the health and wellbeing of our communities and is responsible for the highest number of weather-related deaths in BC annually.
Drought is a shortage of water over an extended period of time. It is caused by long spans of hot and dry weather coupled with insufficient precipitation. It can occur in short periods or span many years. Although drought is a normal part of our climatic cycle, we are experiencing more intense summer droughts in the Cowichan region. Projections indicate warmer temperatures, longer summer dry spells, and decreased agriculture will increase our drought risk. What impacts could we see?
What impacts could we see?
- Increased wildfire risk due to forest vegetation becoming very dry
- Less water available for agricultural crops and livestock, compromising production and animal health and impacting food costs
- Economic impacts for businesses, industry, and tourism due to heat, reduced water supply, and wildfire risk
- Human health hazards from extreme heat and poor air quality due to wildfire smoke
- Impacts to water quantity, including drinking water shortages, and to quality such as algae blooms and increased stream contaminants
- Reduced stream flows impacting fish, wildlife, vegetation, and marine habitats
- Heat stress pressures on transportation, water, and other infrastructure systems leading to increasing operations and replacement costs
- Impacts to systems that require water to operate such as hydro-electrical generation for cooling, ultimately increasing services costs
- Increased energy demand and fossil fuel consumption for cooling buildings
Stay Prepared
Read this brochure to learn about heat and drought risk in our region, how it could affect you, and information to help you be prepared.