Warmest winter on record as temperatures soared 5.4 C above average in southern Ontario
Published May 7, 2024 at 10:54 am
Temperatures broke baseline average records this winter in Canada.
The 2023/2024 winter in southern Ontario was so mild that Environment and Climate Change Canada senior climatologist David Phillips suggested we were close to “cancelling winter in the Toronto area.”
Foggy, rainy weather dominated with Niagara Falls disappearing behind a blanket of fog and clouds in December.
And in a new report, Environment and Climate Change Canada said the national average temperature for this past winter was 5.2 C above the 1961 to 1990 average.
This is a nationwide record for the warmest winter since 1948 and 1.1 C higher than the previous warmest winter in 2009/2010, according to the report.
The coolest winter occurred in 1971/1972 when the national average temperature was 3.6 C below the baseline average.
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Southern Ontario, in the Great Lake/St. Lawrence region, was at 5.4 C above the baseline average. The Northeastern Forest region, including Ontario and Quebec, was at 6.3 C above the baseline average.
Ontario’s winters will likely get warmer.
While averaged winter temperatures across the country have fluctuated from year to year over the 1948 to 2024 period, in the last few decades temperatures have steadily climbed.
With the exceptions of 2014 and 2022, average winter temperatures have remained above the baseline average since 1996.
The linear trend indicates that winter temperatures averaged across the nation have warmed by 3.6 C over the past 77 years, increased by 0.2 C compared to the last winter.
See the full report here.
Lead photo: benjamin lehman
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