Resources for Climate Change

Climate change is reshaping life in the MABR. This page acts as a knowledge hub for information and resources about regional impacts of climate change to help individuals and groups to navigate our changing climate and ecosystems.

 
 

How is climate change impacting the MABR?

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) and the MABR are experiencing increasing impacts of climate change. Extreme weather events, such as storms, floods, and extended droughts and heatwaves, are becoming more common and more intense. Changing precipitation patterns and hotter, drier conditions are also leading to worsening wildfires and wildfire smoke. 

If global emissions remain high, it is likely that this region will experience:

  • An increase in annual average temperature by up to 5°C by the 2080s.

  • Projected doubling or even tripling of the number of extremely hot days – over 25°C – by the 2050s.

  • An increase in winter precipitation by up to 20%, while summer rainfall may decrease by 20-30%.

Reference: Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium. 2023. Climate Projections for the Regional District of Nanaimo. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria. https://rdn.bc.ca/sites/default/files/inline-files/Regional_District_of_Nanaimo_Report-Final_0.pdf.

Local experiences

Conversations with individuals living in the MABR show there are clear impacts of climate change in the region. Drawing from many years of living in the MABR and surrounding region, these individuals shared how they have noticed shifts throughout their lifetimes – shifts in local ecosystems, frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, as well as shifts in their perceptions of climate change.

 

Quotes:

[The winter after the 2021 heat dome] “It didn't matter how deep we (Qualicum First Nation) dug, all the clams and the clam shells that were coming up, they were gone. They were dead. Then we realized the scope and where the beds were in relation to the tide… it was that they were getting cooked at low tide. The heat wave was so, so hot that it killed off entire clam beds all along the coast.”  - Kisselle

“During the (2023) fire just on the other side of this big hill, at Cameron Lake, we actually had ash falling on the property, and we could see plumes of smoke... it was pretty scary.” – Diane (Diane had to evacuate her home during the 2025 Wesley Ridge fire)

“It was sickening the days around the heat dome (2021) as you could smell everything dying there on the beach.” – Danny

These quotes come from personal interviews with individuals living in the MABR that were held as part of the MABR Climate Change Realities project (2024-2025).

 

Actions happening in our region:

A list of climate actions in the MABR can be found here. Please note this is not an exhaustive list of all strategies, plans, or initiatives taking place in the MABR to address climate change. If you know of any strategies, plans, or initiatives that should be included in this list, please let us know and we will update the list.

This page was established as part of the MABR Climate Change Realities project (2024-2025) that was funded through the UNESCO-Aberdeen Charitable Foundation partnership “Promoting sustainable development through UNESCO programmes and sites”.