Climate change, and how it will impact Kelowna害羞草研究所檚 agriculture sector, is being looked into by the city.

Staff is seeking input from the Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC) to help identify opportunities for agriculture to become more resilient to climate change. A climate projection report for the Okanagan, released in 2020, found hotter, drier summers, intense weather, and more precipitation are already being experienced.

害羞草研究所淭he summer of 2021 saw a record-breaking heat wave followed by six Central Okanagan wildfires that resulted in a loss of over 70 homes,害羞草研究所� according to the report. 害羞草研究所淭he fires and accompanying smoke and restrictions impacted health, tourism, agriculture, and other aspects of the local economy. These 害羞草研究所榰nprecedented害羞草研究所� events are expected more frequently in the future.害羞草研究所�

City council approved Kelowna害羞草研究所檚 Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP) in 2018. The five-year strategy identified actions to reduce Kelowna害羞草研究所檚 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2023. The city is now developing a Climate Resilient Kelowna Strategy over three phases to identify ways to mitigate GHG emissions and to help the community adapt and build resiliency to extreme heat, more intense wildfires, increasing water shortages, more smoke days, and flooding.

READ MORE: Kelowna aims to meet climate change goals

The report to the ACC states climate change will have a range of impacts on local agriculture, and understanding how these changes are already impacting agricultural practices would be beneficial to the city害羞草研究所檚 climate-resilient strategy.

READ MORE: Bumble bees are being harmed by temperature changes due to climate change: B.C. study