Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
As communities across Ontario and Quebec pick up the pieces following a deadly storm that left thousands without power, new predictions from AccuWeather reveal that wet and warm weather is expected to continue in the region over the summer season.
According to AccuWeather's senior meteorologist Brett Anderson, a portion of eastern Canada ranging from central and southern Ontario, through to western and southern Quebec, could see higher-than-normal levels of precipitation during the summer. The region is also expected to see above-average levels of thunderstorm activity, he said.
"This may be a busy summer in terms of severe thunderstorms, especially from the Windsor to Toronto to Ottawa corridor," Anderson said as part of an analysis by the weather forecasting company.
In fact, several parts of the country, including British Columbia and Canada’s Maritime provinces, are also likely to see wetter-than-normal conditions this summer, according to AccuWeather’s annual summer forecast released on Tuesday.
La Nina, a climatological phenomenon, is expected to play an important role in controlling which areas of Canada will see increased amounts of precipitation. The climate pattern is caused by a drop in sea surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific Ocean over extended periods of time. This has an impact on the orientation and position of the northern jet stream, which, in turn, affects precipitation levels.
An increase in moisture across Ontario and Quebec will also result in higher levels of humidity in the region, said Anderson, referring to greater amounts of water vapour in the air. Higher levels of humidity will also help these areas to retain some of the heat they encounter, as the air is not able to cool down as quickly as if it were dry.
"Increased humidity will lead to warmer nights when compared to normal, while temperatures during the daytime will be closer to normal," said Anderson.
The effects of greater humidity become especially pronounced in large cities, which typically trap more heat due to the amount of pavement and buildings that exist, which are slow to release heat. The silver lining, however, is that the higher levels of precipitation that are also expected will reduce the risks of drought and wildfires in the region.
According to AccuWeather’s summer forecast, areas of British Columbia are also likely to see more precipitation than usual.
“It'll be wetter than normal across the northern part of the province with near-normal rainfall expected in the southern portion," Anderson said.
Western Canada tends to be the region that is most affected by La Nina, the meteorologist said. This summer, the jet stream is projected to bring more moisture over parts of Western Canada, which will reduce the chance of wildfires developing in the area.
"Given current conditions and the teleconnections expected to be in place, we may see a reduction in fire activity this year, especially when compared to last summer," Anderson said.
Temperatures are predicted to cool down this year in comparison to the scorching hot conditions reported in 2021, said Anderson. Last summer, Canadians saw record-high temperatures in June 2021. The village of Lytton, B.C. broke the record for the highest temperature three days in a row, setting an all-time high of 49.6 C on June 29.
This year, residents can expect temperatures to be closer to normal for most of British Columbia. In Vancouver, for example, temperatures around 21 to 22 C are considered common in mid-to-late-July.
Additionally, rivers and streams will likely run at or just above normal levels. Runoff water melting from layers of snow on nearby mountains will eventually find its way into rivers and streams, which will help the water to continue flowing to different parts of the province, Anderson said.
In contrast to Western Canada, Prairie provinces are projected to see the dry conditions that emerged in mid-May continue into the summer.
"Ongoing and worsening severe drought across southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan will likely feed the heat through the summer," Anderson said.
Data from the Canadian Drought Monitor points to drier-than-normal conditions in the southernmost parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Southern Alberta, in particular, continues to face extreme drought conditions.
According to Anderson, these ongoing conditions will likely result in surging temperatures across cities such as Calgary and Regina, resulting in a hotter summer than usual.
A rise in temperatures, combined with dry ground, paves the way for wildfires to emerge as well, Anderson said. When the ground is dry, it’s easier for heat from the sun to be emitted back into the atmosphere. The result is even higher temperatures, possibly several degrees above what they would have been if the ground was moist.
"These dry and warm conditions will likely lead to a higher risk for large, rapidly spreading fires across the southern Prairies," said Anderson.
Soil in parts of southern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan will remain moist thanks to overflowing rivers as a result of recent storms. This will help reduce some of the risks associated with higher temperatures and the development of wildfires, Anderson said. However, these more moist conditions are unlikely to last all summer long.
"Conditions may flip to drier and hotter during the second half of summer as the soil dries out," he said.
Those in Canada’s Maritime provinces can expect to see humid conditions this summer, according to AccuWeather, with warmer water temperatures likely to result in warmer air temperatures throughout the season.
"I expect water temperatures to average about [1 to 2 C] above normal in the Atlantic, off the coast of Nova Scotia," said Anderson. "This will have a warming and higher humidity influence on the surrounding area, especially at night."
The meteorologist also points to concerning trends around tropical activity in the region. Above-average water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean may lead to greater risk of a tropical system touching base in Atlantic Canada. There have already been reports of a highly active hurricane season in the Atlantic basin this year set to take place during the summer and early fall.
This comes as the meteorological summer is set to begin on June 1. The official start of summer, otherwise known as the summer solstice, begins on June 21.
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
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 mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
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.