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Figure 6.4 – Map showing the observed change in total precipitation that has occurred across British Columbia
between 1900 and 2013 by bioregion. The greatest changes have been in the southern interior. The Strait of Georgia
has had a relatively moderate shift at a rate of 10-11% per century.
Source: Strait of Georgia Data Centre, Pacific Salmon Foundation
Precipitation
Overall, there has been a 14% increase in average In winter, less precipitation will fall as snow due
annual precipitation per century in BC, with the to warmer temperatures . This results in reduced
greatest increases in the BC interior (Figure 6 .4) . snowpack in higher elevations and a loss of
The greatest increase (23%) in seasonal precipita- consistent melt waters that are so important to
tion has been during spring for the Georgia sustain streams though the dry season .
Depression specifically (MOE BC 2016) . In the
future it is anticipated that the cooler months
will see more precipitation, but the summer
will become drier (CRD 2017), with a projected
decrease in summer precipitation under a high
emissions scenario and a small change under a
low emission scenario (Zhang et al . 2019) .
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