El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
There is a swaying sea of colour in some cities across Canada, and it's a sure sign of spring: cherry blossoms are in bloom.
Toronto's High Park is famous for its canopy of flowering Sakura trees, which are now officially in peak bloom, according to the High Park Nature Centre.
"That means more than 70 per cent of blossoms are now open," said park spokesperson Rohith Rao. In Vancouver, pink "kanzan" blossoms have already wowed visitors.
While most trees will have a peak-bloom period, the length of time it lasts depends on the location and weather conditions. Once the flowers are open, they are fragile to the elements.
"Warm and unsettled weather means we can have shorter bloom periods. Cool and calm can extend that period," said Rao. The typical bloom period is only between four and 10 days. Even with ideal conditions, the season can be short.
The bountiful blooms attract hundreds of thousands to the Toronto park each year, and there's even a "Cherry Blossom Hotline" for people to call and get the latest news. The nature centre monitors the blossoms, predicts peak bloom and tracks annual trends for cherry blossoms throughout the city.
Blossom development is a temperature-sensitive process. Trees will bloom early when encouraged by warm weather, while cooler conditions will delay bloom.
A woman walks past flowering cherry trees in Centennial Park, in Toronto, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Frank Gunn / The Canadian Press)
Vancouver has more than 43,000 cherry trees. But this year, many of the pink blossoms landed on the ground earlier than people could enjoy.
"Our Akebono, which is a cultivar … came a little bit early," said Andrea Arnot, executive director of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. The tree bloomed two weeks early following a stretch of record-warm weather in March. Then, the petals fell to the ground quickly.
"They used to follow suit pretty well and come out predictably," said festival founder Linda Poole. "Now, with climate change, this year was the most challenging."
The trees can be found in cities across the country, and many of them were gifts from Japan. In Vancouver, in the early 1930s, mayors of Kobe and Yokohama presented the park board with 500 Japanese cherry trees to be planted at the Japanese cenotaph in Stanley Park, honouring Japanese Canadians who served in WWI. Years later, the trees were planted along city boulevards.
In Toronto, the first trees were planted in 1959 during an event spearheaded by Japanese-Canadian leaders and community members with a vision to build a Japanese garden in a public park.
After much fundraising, the Japanese ambassador to Canada presented 2,000 sakura trees to Toronto on behalf of Tokyo citizens. They were planted in appreciation of Toronto accepting re-located Japanese-Canadians following the Second World War.
Onlookers have enjoyed the yearly blooms ever since.
"They're magnificent. The aroma, the fragrance of the sakura cherry blossoms are just incredible," said Alice Benlolo, who was visiting the trees at York University in Toronto.
"With all the political negativity going on," said another visitor, Yoram Rostas. "this is so nice, to come take a break."
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
The Maple Leafs battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss.
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
Thieves killed two Australians and an American on a surfing trip to Mexico in order to steal their truck, particularly because they wanted the tires, authorities said Sunday.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.