Extreme cold in Quebec: several outdoor activities cancelled

Two Environment Canada weather alerts are in place for the Greater Montreal area this weekend and into Monday for snow and extreme cold.

Environment Canada issued a cold weather warning affecting all of Quebec shortly after 4 a.m. on Saturday, with wind chill values ranging from -35 to -38 degrees Celsius.

Very cold weather will continue throughout the weekend, and windy conditions on Saturday will contribute to the drop in temperature.

For example, with the wind chill, it felt like -36 degrees Celsius around 6 a.m. on Saturday morning in Montreal, but temperatures were expected to rise by about ten degrees by the afternoon.

The situation was similar in the areas around Trois-Rivières, Quebec City, Rivière-du-Loup, Baie-Comeau and Saguenay, where it felt like -40 degrees Celsius with the wind chill factor when people woke up.

With such extreme cold, this is not the time to take children or pets outside, as the risk of frostbite is very high. An increase in cases of frostbite in hospitals is also anticipated.

Public health officials are particularly concerned about homeless people. In the city, where the problem of homelessness is highly visible, several resources have been mobilized to direct homeless people to places where they can warm up.

Several outdoor activities were cancelled on Saturday.

This was notably the case at the Granby Zoo, which was closed on Saturday due to the extreme cold.

Also in the Eastern Townships, ski lessons and Nuit Blanche were cancelled at the Bromont ski resort for the same reason, and night skiing was cancelled at Mont-Saint-Anne, near Quebec City.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 24, 2026.