Two small pockets around Kelowna and Salmon Arm are still in moderate drought. Parts of the Okanagan are still in moderate drought, despite an unusually wet spring and early summer. The latest Canadian Drought Monitor report from Agriculture and Agrifoods Canada shows that most of the area from the Canada-US border to north of Kamloops is still unusually dry. The report dated June 30, 2022 also shows two pockets of moderate drought, in the Kelowna area and in and around Salmon Arm. The South Okanagan is no longer in moderate drought. The only other part of the province that is unusually dry hugs the western slopes of the Rockies from the border to just north of Golden. The drought watch report notes that much of British Columbia has reported above-normal precipitation, but the area with the largest long-term moisture deficit remains near Kamloops and the Okanagan. However, the abnormally dry area decreased in size, as did pockets of moderate drought. The report notes that initial concerns about flooding from snowmelt in June appeared to be fading, but flows remained nearly above normal for the end of the month. As of June 30, six percent of the Pacific region was considered unusually dry or moderately droughty, including twenty-one percent of the region’s agricultural landscape. In the summer of 2021, during the heat dome and devastating wildfires, a portion of the Okanagan was considered to be in extreme drought. Agriculture is the number one user of water in the Okanagan and prolonged periods of dry weather can cause damage to crops and shortages in the water supply for livestock. The Prairie region remains the nation’s driest in 2022, but was helped by heavy rainfall in the Calgary area last month. All Extreme Drought designations were removed in southern Alberta except for a small pocket near the US/Alberta border, and only two pockets of Severe Drought remained in southern Alberta. Photo: Agriculture and Agrifoods Canada Areas considered abnormally dry and moderately dry shrank between May and June.
