Parts of British Columbia will likely enter B次元官网网址渦nfamiliar territoryB次元官网网址� with drought if they see another hot, dry summer, says the head of the provinceB次元官网网址檚 River Forecast Centre.

Dave Campbell says persistent drought conditions in B.C. stretch back to 2022, so the province is heading into this summer with B次元官网网址渕ulti-yearB次元官网网址� precipitation deficits.

Satellite photos show rivers across the province running narrower and shallower than the same time in 2023, which went on to be one of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 driest years on record.

With average snowpack levels lower than ever recorded in B.C. this past winter, Campbell says heB次元官网网址檚 expecting cumulative effects that could include water scarcity and other challenges.

B次元官网网址淲e know these antecedent conditions that weB次元官网网址檙e coming into this year are much more challenging than we started out last year with,B次元官网网址� he said in a recent interview.

B次元官网网址淭he concern obviously is if we get that hot, prolonged dry (period) that weB次元官网网址檝e seen last year and the year before as well. If that continues this summer, then really we are on a path toward things that we havenB次元官网网址檛 seen in recent memory.B次元官网网址�

Pockets of the Interior are especially dry. Campbell said heB次元官网网址檚 most worried about the effects of drought on smaller rivers and creeks in the central Interior.

B次元官网网址淧rince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake, Vanderhoof, thatB次元官网网址檚 kind of the hot spot, and then the other (area) that would be a concern would be up in the northeast,B次元官网网址� he said.

The area around Vanderhoof, B.C., west of Prince George, has seen about 220 millimetres of rain over the past year when it typically sees about 460 millimetres, he said.

Images provided by the Canadian Space Agency appear to show the effects of persistent drought in the Interior when compared with those taken last spring.

An image taken last week by theEuropean Space AgencyB次元官网网址檚 Sentinel-2 satellite shows the Quesnel River is narrower, with more of its banks exposed this month compared with an image taken a year ago. Last weekB次元官网网址檚 photo shows patches of exposed riverbed and sandbars, indicating lower water levels in the tributary as it meets the upper Fraser River in Quesnel.

Satellite images tell a similar story in Fort St. James, B.C., where the water appears shallower this year as Stuart Lake feeds into Stuart River.

The Fort Nelson and Muskwa rivers also appear narrower, with more of their banks exposed compared with images taken in April 2023.

The Canadian Space Agency notes the images use infrared B次元官网网址渇alse colourB次元官网网址� because it shows the boundaries between land and water more clearly than other renditions.

Campbell said parts of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Okanagan will likely also see the effects of the moisture deficit and low amounts of snow that melted early this spring.

On northern Vancouver Island, meanwhile, he said the community of Port Hardy, B.C., has seen 1,260 millimetres of rain over the last year when it typically sees a little more than 1,800 millimetres.

It would take B次元官网网址渁 few months of wet-season rainfallB次元官网网址� to ease the drought, he said.

B.C.B次元官网网址檚 snow survey last month found snowpack across the province was B次元官网网址渆xtremely low,B次元官网网址� averaging 63 per cent of normal. The Quesnel area was listed at 52 per cent of normal, while the neighbouring West-Road Chilcotin region was at zero per cent.

Officials are expected to hold a press conference about drought and wildfires on Thursday as the province releases its latest snowpack bulletin.

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