As snowstorms in winter and hot dry temperatures in summer get more common, an environmental expert is cautioning Richmond residents to prepare for violent weather.
The impacts of El Niño on the West Coast are being magnified by climate change, so weather extremes that are normal due to climate change are becoming even more extreme, explained Paul Richard, chair of environmental protection technology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU).
“People need to know – it's not the warming, it’s the weirding of the weather. It's making our climate more violent. It's making our storms, droughts and risk of floods worse.”
The arctic air and resulting frigid temperatures the Lower Mainland has experienced in the past week brought colder than normal temperatures, he noted, and that's directly caused by climate change.
Because of the ongoing impacts of El Niño, Richard predicts another hot, dry spring and summer in 2024, following the record-high temperatures experienced last year.
Compared to other cities in B.C., the type of housing allowed in Richmond - that is, homes without basements due to flood risks - will mean bigger challenges for Richmond residents who can’t cool down in their basement in hot weather.
As for trends in 2024, he sees Richmond residents buying heat pumps to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter and more electric or hybrid cars to reduce greenhouse gases.
A worrying trend is water availability due to less rain.
"Even though we've had the recent dump ... the reservoirs are nowhere near as high as they should be at this time of the year in a normal year because of the El Niño impact," said Richard.
He said the city may react quickly this year asking residents not to wash cars or water lawns.
"Because there's always a risk that we get through a critical phase where there's really not enough water for everybody, so we can't afford to waste it at all," he said.
He said even Tofino, a place where it rains a lot, experienced a drought one summer and the government had to truck in water because the reservoirs were dry.
And given Richmond's geography and rising sea levels due to climate change, the city needs to continue monitoring and managing the risk of flooding, Richard said.
“I think Richmond has done a better job than other municipalities in the Lower Mainland when it comes to looking after its dikes and stuff,” he added.
“There's still work that, in my opinion, ought to be done, but it's just in terms of what if a real big thing happens that is linked to climate change, or any environmental events in 2024.”
It’s important to recognize and prepare for climate change, he added.
“We need to be smart as to how we adapt to it because we know changes are coming, but changes coming slowly giving us a chance to adapt," Richard said.
"But to say, 'oh, nothing's happening, why should we invest in this or invest in that,’ to me would be the most foolish thing that we could do.”
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