The effects of climate change led to severe winter conditions at the end of 2022. It was reported there were at least 30 highway closures due to the winter conditions and accidents. Zafar Adeel, a professor for the School of Sustainable Energy at SFU, said other Canadian cities “tend to be much better equipped and prepared for snow storms.”
Many people are led to believe that such extreme winter weather conditions are occurring due to climate change. “The winter pattern in the 2022/23 season is impacted by prevailing La Niña conditions, in which the eastern Pacific Ocean sea-surface is cooler than normal,” explained Adeel. “This La Niña pattern affects winter weather events across Canada, but particularly results in cooler and stormier conditions across the Pacific Northwest. In general, climate change has intensified the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, of which La Niña is a part of. However, it is difficult to pin the prevailing winter weather conditions on climate change.”
Adeel emphasized BC’s infrastructure is not ready for drastic weather conditions, “as we have observed in the ‘atmospheric river’ event in November 2021.” The 2021 flood caused damages to the road and surrounding infrastructure. Adeel noted repair “to the road infrastructure alone will likely exceed a billion dollars, including re-design to make it more resilient.”
According to Adeel, these conditions are likely going to worsen over the coming years. “There is a need to closely look at the level of vulnerability in overall infrastructure and make some strategic investments.”
The ministry of transportation and infrastructure said to Vancouver is Awesome they are investing in more highway maintenance and making improvements towards maintenance contracts. A ministry spokesperson also explained they are raising their standards to have “a more proactive approach” to sudden weather conditions. This approach includes ensuring Class A highways — such as Highway 1, 3, and 97— are cleared from snow within 24 hours of a snow storm.
Canada and BC are investing $29.5 million into 11 BC projects to ensure that communities are resilient against natural disasters. The minister of intergovernmental affairs, infrastructure, and communities, Dominic LeBlanc, said to BC Government News, “Improvements to natural infrastructure and effective flood prevention measures help protect people, property, and livelihoods. These projects [ . . . ] will create jobs, improve critical infrastructure across BC, and help communities withstand natural disasters.”
