Climate change impacts are already evident in our community and will become more impactful in the near future. We are already experiencing hotter, drier summers, warmer, wetter winters, and more extreme weather and climate scientists are projecting these trends to continue into the future. High carbon near future scenarios assume greenhouse gas emissions continue increasing at current rates. These projections indicate that from 2021-2050: 

• average annual daily mean temperatures are projected to increase by 2.2ºC;
• there will be more days with a maximum temperature of greater than 25ºC and summer rainfall will decline;
• precipitation in the winter is projected to increase and so are winter temperatures, which could leave to wetter rather than snowy winters; and
• receding glaciers. Glaciers in the Canadian Columbia Basin lost 15% of their area from 1985 to 2005 and are projected to mostly disappear by 2100. 

Check out the Basin Climate Source website that provides climate information and resource for the Columbia Basin Boundary Region: basinclimatesource.ca

What is the City of Revelstoke doing to address climate change?

The 2018 – 2022 Strategic Plan, developed by Council with input from senior staff, includes the priority of Sustainability. The City is committed to steward development in Revelstoke to satisfy the needs of the present without adversely affecting the ability of future generations to satisfy their needs and to pursuing “green” initiatives that enable the City of Revelstoke to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

With funding through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the City of Revelstoke has hired a Climate Change Coordinator. The coordinator will work collaboratively with city staff, from all departments to ensure climate change is being considered in every day decision making. The coordinator will be engaging with the community and stakeholders to update the City’s emissions targets to ensure the City of Revelstoke is reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. 

For more information on the City’s approach to climate change, please contact the City of Revelstoke’s Climate Change Coordinator, Caitlin Hinton