British Columbia expects another drought year, Canada

british-columbia-expects-another-drought-year-canada

The British Columbia, Canada is set to experience another year of severe drought. The hot weather conditions have caused the fall of the snow coverage across the mountain regions, and water levels have receded well below the average for this time of the year.

According to Dave Campbell of the River Forecast Center, the snowpack has reduced to 13% of its normal amount, following the warm months of March, April, and May: “At a provincewide level in general, (river water) flows are sitting at about one-quarter to three-quarters of what they would normally be this time of year.”

The Environment Canada has forecast higher than usual temperatures for the summer months, as a major portion of the British Columbia is in stage two on a four-stage drought scale.

The year 2015 is regarded, as, so far, the most significant drought season recently recorded, and residents are preparing for the worst-case scenario: The Metro Vancouver has urged the citizens to engage in the early water conservation, although the water situation looks better this year, for now. According to Eric Meyer, the superintendent of fire weather, the wildfires have scorched about six times more lands than usually. 

The County authorities have adjusted the water legislation to enable rising the needs of human and environmental health above the water license holders on the local rivers, and the region will put the measures in action should the water levels become critical.

“We’re hoping for a better year than we had last year, but we’re certainly preparing for the worst,” said Valerie Cameron, manager of the government’s water stewardship program.

Featured image credit: Windy Bay Forest, B.C. by Sam Beebe (CC – Flickr)

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