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Community Climate Resiliency Planning

Climate change hazards

Climate change is already greatly influencing our lives in British Columbia (B.C.). Over the next decades, we expect B.C. to see an increase in several climate-related hazards including heat events, poor air quality, flooding, and other extreme weather events. We know that these hazards negatively affect the physical, mental, and social health of people living in the region served by Interior Health.

However, communities across the Interior Health region are investing in collaborative climate actions. When efforts to reduce climate risks are coordinated across sectors, there are many social, economic, and cultural co-benefits that support individual and community health, as well as benefiting the health system and the environment

Commonly experienced climate-related hazards in Interior Health region include:

Extreme heat
Cold temperatures
Wildfire and smoke
Flooding
Drought

To learn more about climate-related hazards and examples of community climate resilience in the region:

Climate Change and Health Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment

The Climate Change and Health Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment (CCHVAA) is a planning tool that explores how climate change is impacting health across Interior Health’s health service delivery areas.

Through a combination of community engagement and data analysis, the assessment identifies key climate hazards, highlights vulnerable populations, and outlines opportunities to strengthen community resilience with a focus on the social, economic, and geographic factors that influence resilience.

The first completed assessment focuses on the Kootenay Boundary Health Service Delivery Area (HSDA), offering insights into how climate-related events such as extreme heat, wildfires, flooding and drought are affecting health and well-being in that region.

Read the summary report for the Kootenay Boundary Health Service Delivery Area

Read the full report for the Kootenay Boundary Health Service Delivery Area

We will be building on the learnings from the Kootenay Boundary assessment and validating them through engagement with communities in the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap, Okanagan and East Kootenay HSDAs. This work will help build the knowledge and capacity of our staff so they’re better equipped to support communities with climate adaptation going forward.

2023 Medical Health Officer (MHO) Report: Climate Change, Health and Well-being

The 2023 MHO Report includes stories of innovation and resilience to climate change that are intended to inspire action and creative solutions at the community level.

Read 2023 MHO Report: Climate Change, Health and Well-being

Heat Alert & Response Planning Toolkit

View the Heat Alert & Response Planning Toolkit for Interior BC Communities

Community Health & Climate Change Maps

The Interior Health (IH) Community Health and Climate Change Maps were published in 2022 are now being retired. The Community Health and Climate Change Maps were inspired by a similar set of maps developed to represent community vulnerability to climate change in Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health to help regional authorities to prepare and plan for events caused by climate change and to increase awareness about what causes some communities in the Interior to be inequitably impacted by climate change.

We are retiring the maps due to:

Evolving methodology for climate change vulnerability mapping
Availability of new data including 2021 Census data
Emerging research on extreme hazards and adaptation.

IH will continue to work with the Province of BC and/or other health authorities to assess regional and provincial needs to support communities in preparing and planning for weather related hazards caused by climate change. In the meantime, refer to:

ClimateData.ca allows decision makers to access, visualize, and analyze climate data, and provides related information and tools to support adaptation planning and decision-making.
Plan2Adapt Tool generates maps, plots, and data describing projected future climate conditions for regions throughout British Columbia. It is designed to help you assess climate change in your region based on a standard set of climate model projections.
Climate Atlas of Canada combines climate science, mapping, and storytelling together with Indigenous Knowledges and community-based research and video to inspire awareness and action.

Access more climate information

View our webpages on:

Healthy Communities

Climate Change

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