Predicted Impacts of Climate Change on BC Lakes
Article by Ken Ashley, Ph.D., R.P. Bio.
Climate change poses an existential threat to some of BC’s diverse ecosystems if it continues unabated. In the coming years it will influence BC’s lakes and reservoirs in variety of ways – some subtle and some dramatic.
In larger water bodies the effect will be muted, but will still be noticeable. Moderate increases in summer surface temperatures and slow minor warming of the hypolimnion will occur in large, cooler lakes (Anderson et al., 2021), such as Kootenay Lake and Harrison Lake, whereas large lakes in the Okanagan Valley will experience record high summer surface temperatures and stronger thermal stratification. Continue Reading