Temperature records broken as unseasonable warmth hits Ontario

Temperatures are soaring across Ontario with Toronto breaking a daily record and other cities poised to follow suit.

The temperature cracked 11 C by 10 a.m. Friday at Toronto Pearson International Airport, busting a daily record set on the same day in 1938, when it reached a high of 10.6 C.

It’s the latest record to fall across Canada, where forecasters had warned a strong global El Nino climate pattern paired with the effects of human-caused climate change was expected to lead to a warmer winter.

Environment Canada meteorologist Peter Kimbell says it was nearly 5 degrees warmer than average in December and 3.4 degrees above average last month in Toronto.

Kimbell says London, Windsor and Ottawa were among the other cities flirting with daily records, as unseasonable warmth brings far-reaching effects across the province.

An organization representing First Nations across northern Ontario declared a state of emergency this week because of impassable winter roads, which communities depend on for deliveries of fuels, food supplies and construction materials.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press