The Capital Regional District is corralling resources in a bid to track effects and prepare for extreme heat events on the south Island.
A new online extreme heat information portal hosts information and maps to help residents and municipal planners in the 13 communities the CRD serves.
“This valuable resources will help communities to deal with extreme heat,” Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins, who chairs the CRD Environmental Services Committee, said in a news release. “The portal provides tools and information to help planners and emergency managers identify areas of risk in our region and better plan for extreme heat now and in the future.”
The goal is to integrate extreme heat disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation planning.
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The project included data collection and engagement as well as analysis of how extreme heat is distributed across the region. It comes in the wake of a 2021 heat wave that claimed more than 700 lives in B.C., 24 of them in the Capital Region.
“As a result of climate change, we can expect our region to continue to be at risk for extreme heat events,” said CRD chair Colin Plant. “Preparing for and learning how to adapt to these events requires immediate actions. This initiative is an excellent example of working together with our local governments to develop regional resources to address climate impacts now and into the future.”
Created in collaboration with local governments, the province and Island Health, the portal information and maps that will help residents and municipal planners explore and understand the capital region’s vulnerability and exposure to extreme heat.
It includes a climate projections report updated to April 2024. In broad terms, it shows the region can expect hotter summer temperatures with more extreme days and heat waves, warmer nights and longer growing seasons warmer winters and less rain as well as less snowfall with rainfall becoming more extreme.
Find the portal at heat.prepareyourself.ca.
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