Even if you fall into the camp that refuses to accept the reality of climate change, it’s clear B.C. is going through a rough patch when it comes to extreme weather events.
The nature of the flooding is a little different from last year, but flooding it is as creeks are overflowing their banks and Osoyoos Lake, in particular, is passing historic maximums.
If we are lucky, the high water won’t be followed by another summer of devastating forest fires.
But regardless of the reason, these events are indicators the climate is changing. It may settle down over the next few years, or be more limited in scope. Or it may be something we have to learn to live with.
That doesn’t mean just our personal expectations of what constitutes spring and summer in B.C., but governments of all levels will need to take extreme weather events into account when budgeting, just as they currently do for winter snow.
The same goes for businesses that rely heavily on tourism for their bottom line. The tourism sector was already concerned about the ongoing effect of all the stories covering last year’s flooding and fires in the province, and are already laying plans to counteract the image that potential tourists will get from the current flooding situation.
That is a good thing. Flood, crisis and danger are not great words for marketing, but that is the unfortunate reality. Like last spring, creeks and lakes are at or nearing flooding levels, there is danger people need to be notified about and the South Okanagan is on the verge of a crisis — it’s only hard work by volunteers and local authorities that is keeping it from reaching that level.
It doesn’t mean the region still doesn’t have a lot to offer tourists. Most tourists would be unaffected by the flooding, but we all have to adjust. Like it or not, this may be the new normal.
