The first week of June will be cooler and wetter than normal across most of B.C., but the rest of the month will likely be hotter and drier than seasonal norms.
That is the outlook Environment Canada warning preparedness meteorologist Armel Castellan gave during Friday’s (May 31) update on seasonal preparedness for summer heat.
Castellan’s outlook can be read as a warning to British Columbians to prepare themselves for higher temperatures, but he is also against treating these seasonal predictions with too much certainty.
British Columbians will only know about individual precipitation and weather events in the days leading up to them, he said. He said modelling for June, July and August will likely be a warmer-than-normal summer, with just Haida Gwaii and parts of Vancouver Island could see more near-normal temperatures.
Castellan said May saw “near-normal” quantities of rain for B.C.’s central Interior, but added that most of B.C. has experienced a “precipitation deficit” during the spring of 2024 in line with the last two years.
Castellan was joined by Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry, Health Minister Adrian Dix and Josie Osborne, B.C.’s minister of energy, mines and low carbon innovation, and other provincial staff.
Henry said it’s no surprise that B.C. has been seeing hotter and drier summers due to climate change.
She added people should start preparing now for hot spells, such as identifying people who are more at risk from heat.
One of the tools the province has been working on the last few years is the B.C. Heat Alert and Response System, a collaboration between scientists, Environment Canada, health authorities and more.
“We have a system now where we can put out information where people can understand what the risk is in your area. It’s important to pay attention to these.”
Henry said the province will be putting out heat warnings when there area higher-than-normal temperatures of several days, and when it’s pretty steady.
“In those occasions where we have not only higher daytime temperatures, but it’s continually getting hotter of a period of days and not getting cooler at night, that is when we would be in a state of an extreme heat emergency.”
This year, B.C. highway signs will also have information on heat and where to go in the event of extreme heat.
More to come…
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