More than 100 heat warnings are in effect across Canada, with every province except Manitoba covered by at least one warning.
Warnings remained in place Monday for all of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, most southern parts of Ontario and Quebec, including Toronto and Montreal, as well as certain parts of Labrador.
New warnings had been issued for Edmonton and much of the rest of Alberta, parts of western British Columbia including some of Vancouver Island, and the city of Lloydminster, Sask.
Manitoba was the only province not to be covered by any warnings, but a special weather statement from Environment Canada cautioned that hot temperatures would move into the southern half of the province by Tuesday. Daytime highs at or above 30 C were likely to persist for four to five days.
There were a total of 114 heat warnings in effect across Canada as of 3 p.m. ET Monday.
The exact criteria for a heat warning can vary in different parts of Canada.
In Alberta, Environment Canada was warning of daytime highs of at least 29 C and overnight lows of at least 14 C through Friday.
Extreme heat was expected to end much sooner in central provinces. Toronto’s heat warning was in effect Monday due to forecasts calling for a humidex of at least 40, and expected to end later in the day as a cold front moved through the area.
Halifax’s heat warning was expected to linger until Wednesday or Thursday, with daytime highs around 30 C and maximum humidex values as high as 40 expected until then. The city has already seen temperatures climb past 25 C every day since July 23, breaking a record set in 1876.
Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips described the hot weather as part of a “global heat wave” that has been ongoing since June. He said many Canadians could expect above-average temperatures to linger through most of August.
“We still think we’ve got several weeks to go for most of the country,” he told CTV News Channel on Monday.
With files from The Canadian Press
