Heat dome reshaped British Columbia's ecosystems five years on

Five years after the historic heat dome scorched British Columbia, a reshuffling of the natural world is visible from the forest floor to the ocean's edge. Some species are in what researchers call a slow-motion collapse; others show surprising resilience that could hold clues to surviving future extreme heat.

The 2021 heat dome broke temperature records across British Columbia—a climate shock that pushed ecosystems past their limits. From the intertidal zones of the Strait of Georgia to the forest canopy, the latest data reveals which species and habitats were hardest hit and which adapted.

CBC's Johanna Wagstaffe examined how the extreme heat event altered the balance of life. Some creatures locked in decline face long odds of recovery; others are providing a blueprint for what can survive the next heat wave. The reporting reflects a broader shift in climate science: moving past the question of whether extreme heat is becoming normal, toward understanding which parts of the living world will persist through it.