Trees scorched by the Donnie Creek wildfire line a forest north of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, July 2, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Noah Berger
VANCOUVER – A report on drought conditions from British Columbia’s River Forecast Centre says the combination of record heat in May followed by early snow melt and persistently low levels of precipitation has parched much of the province.
The report by hydrologist Jonathan Boyd says most of B.C. has received rainfall over the past year between 40 per cent and 85 per cent of annual average precipitation.
It says stream flows measured this week at some rivers on Vancouver Island and in northwestern B.C. are at the highest drought-level category, Level 5, while other major rivers in the Interior and Kootenays are getting close.
Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma highlighted the findings in a drought status update today.
Earlier this week, she urged B.C. residents to take measures to conserve water, including watering lawns sparingly, taking shorter showers and only doing laundry with a full load.
Premier David Eby and Ma have both said the situation is serious and much of B.C. has never before experienced the current levels of drought this early in the summer.
At Level 5, conditions are exceptionally dry, the provincial drought scale says, and all efforts should be made to conserve water and protect critical environmental flows.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2023.
