Drought and water scarcity continues to affect the west coast, south coast and northeastern areas of B.C. that have experienced little to no rainfall over the past five weeks with continued dry weather in the forecast.
Areas under Drought Level 4 include the Fort Nelson basin, the Sunshine Coast basin, Lower Mainland basin, and the east and west Vancouver Island basins. At Drought Level 4, conditions are extremely dry and adverse effects to socio-economic or ecosystem values are likely.
Drought is a recurring feature of climate that involves reduced precipitation, such as rain, during an extended period, resulting in a water shortage.
Regions under Drought Level 3 include the eastern pacific range basin, Coldwater River basin, Kettle basin, and the South Peace, North Peace and East Peace basins. At Drought Level 3, conditions are becoming severely dry. Potentially serious ecosystem or socio-economic effects are possible in some circumstances.
All other watershed basins in B.C. are either under Drought Level 2 or Drought Level 1.
British Columbia ranks drought levels from 0 to 5, with Drought Level 5 rated as the most severe with adverse effects to socio-economic or ecosystem values being almost certain.
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