Understanding how human-induced climate change will impact the future air temperature and precipitation patterns in the Okanagan region (Kelowna, Penticton, Summerland, and Vernon) is crucial for the people living in this part of Canada. These four cities are located in one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in Western Canada, making the consequences of climate change particularly concerning. The effects will be felt in various aspects of Okanagan life, including the risk of wildfires, water shortages, agriculture, tourism, recreation, and public health. As an Okanagan resident, I am deeply concerned about the environmental impacts of continued global warming and associated climate change. Therefore, this website was created to engage the Okanagan community in this important environmental issue.

         By analyzing the impact of human-induced climate change on these communities, we can develop effective adaptation strategies. This information also empowers citizens to identify the most effective approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the future. The four Okanagan cities examined have an excellent record of daily climate data collected by Environment and Climate Change Canada. I have analyzed this historical data from 1951 to the present for each city to identify any observable trends in surface air temperature and precipitation. 

        This site offers some general information about human-induced climate change and how to recognize its appearance, which can be accessed from the Background link. This information is organized into six webpages:

1. Introduction to Human-Caused Climate Change.

2. Human Enhancement of the Greenhouse Effect.

3. Forecasting Human-Caused Climate Change.

4.  Consequences of Human-Caused Climate Change.

5.  Mitigation Efforts. 

6.  Statistical Interpretation of Climate Data.

        For each of the four Okanagan cities—Kelowna, Penticton, Summerland, and Vernon—climate change-related information is organized on the following five webpages:

• Past Climate: This webpage provides information on how air temperature and precipitation have changed in Kelowna, Penticton, Summerland, and Vernon from 1951 to 2025, most likely due to human-caused climate change.
• Future Climate: This webpage utilizes a subset of eight global climate change models employed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to forecast how air temperature and precipitation might change in the Okanagan’s four main cities in the 21st century. These predictions assume three scenarios of continued emission of greenhouse gases into Earth’s atmosphere.
• Maximum Temperature: This webpage presents daily maximum temperature graphs for each of the four Okanagan cities analyzed in this web resource. The temperature data is graphed from January 1 to December 31. It includes the current year (updated weekly) and data for every year from 1951 to 2026. The purpose of these graphs is to document extreme warm and cold weather events in the past and provide evidence that human-caused climate change is indeed causing temperatures to rise.
• Minimum Temperature: This webpage presents daily minimum temperature graphs for each of the four Okanagan cities analyzed in this web resource. The temperature data is graphed from January 1 to December 31. It includes the current year (updated weekly) and data for every year from 1951 to 2026. The purpose of these graphs is to document extreme warm and cold weather events in the past and provide evidence that human-caused climate change is indeed causing temperatures to rise.
• Precipitation: This webpage monitors the cumulative amount of precipitation that has fallen in the current year and compares it to the previous 5 years and the average for 1951-2000. This information is crucial for predicting the risk of drought and the increased likelihood of forest fires in the current year. 

        Finally, from the Forecast link, I provide the latest long-range forecast of temperature and precipitation trends for the next three months. This information was gathered from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center for North America. These forecasts are generated by analyzing the output of seven advanced climate models, including Canada’s CanESM5 model, as found on the North American Multi-Model Ensemble webpage. This information will be updated by the 10th day of each month.

Additional Educational References

City of Kelowna. 2024. Climate Resilient Kelowna Strategy.

Dessler, Andrew E. 2021. Introduction to Modern Climate Change, Third Edition. Amazon Canada.

Figueres, Christiana and Rivett-Carnac, Tom. 2021. The Future We Choose: The Stubborn Optimist's Guide to the Climate Crisis. Amazon Canada.

Mann, Michael E. 2022. The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet. Amazon Canada.

Mann, Michael E.  and Kump, Lee R. 2015. Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change, Second Edition. Amazon Canada.

Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen. 2020. Climate Projections for the Okanagan Region.

Thompson, V., Kennedy-Asser, A.T., Vosper, E.,  Lo, Y.T.E., Huntingford, C., Andrews, O., Collins, M., Gabrielle C. Hegerl, G.C,. & Mitchell, D. 2022. The 2021 western North America heat wave among the most extreme events ever recorded globally. Science Advances, 8 (18), eabm6860. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm6860

White, R.H., Anderson, S., Booth, J.F., Braich, G., Draeger, G., Fei, C., Harley, C.D.G., Henderson, S.B. , Jakob, M., Lau, C.-A., Admasu, L.M., Narinesing, V., Rodell, C., Roocroft, E., Weinberger, K.R., & West, G. 2023. The unprecedented Pacific Northwest heatwave of June 2021. Nature Communications, 14, 727. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36289-3