The Greater Vancouver regional authority has published a “Climate Projections” document that predicts a rise of 3 degrees Celsius in the local average temperature by the 2050s, within the working lifetime of people now in their twenties.

Mountainside reservoir; photo from “Climate Projections for Metro Vancouver”

Among other impacts, we can look forward to:

• Reduced snowpack on the coastal mountains, hotter and drier summers, and lower summertime water levels in local reservoirs.
• More very hot days and tropical nights, with demand for energy to run refrigerators and air conditioners forecast to increase to 6 times the current requirement.
• A 45% increase in “growing degree days,” a measure of the warmth that grows crops.
• Tough times for winter recreation operators.

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