Watch It Wednesday #11

As the west coast of North America was in the grips of a high-pressure induced heat wave, the First Nations village of Lytton made history three days in a row by smashing the all time highest recorded temperature record for Canada (45°C set in Saskatchewan nearly 100 years ago), with the new standing record of 49.6°C on June 29th, 2021. The next day, a fire swept through the village, burning 90% of it to the ground.

Currently there are over 150 wildfires burning in BC and over 80,000 hectares have been burned, well ahead of the ten year average for this time of year. The Global News report paints a bleak picture of what residents in Lytton and around BC are currently facing, along with the climate change impacts that are only projected to worsen in BC and around the world into the future. Read more in our article on climate and weather in BC now and into the future.

Now for some good news…check out the success of local fishers and the GoldenEye Foundation in Jamaica to help revive fish populations decimated by overfishing and coral bleaching.

Together they created the Oracabessa Bay Marine Trust, which has created a marine protected area and developed a program to train fishers to dive and restore coral reefs. The Trust has been extremely successful, increasing fish populations in Oracabessa Bay by 500% from 2013-2020!