Temperature records fall as heat wave continues

Environment Canada is expecting a real sizzler in Toronto over the next few days as a humid air mass moves into the city. (Michelle Siu / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Toronto snapped a 117-year-old temperature record today as a rare fall heat wave continued but there is at least some relief in sight.

The temperature reached 31.1 C in the city on Tuesday, topping a previous record for this date that had stood since 1900 (30.0 C). The temperature at Pearson International Airport, meanwhile, also hit 31.1 C but that only broke a 17-year-old record (29.6 C).

There is some good news for heat-wary residents, though.

The hot weather appears to be on its way out after four straight days in which the mercury surpassed 30 C.

Environment Canada is predicting a high of 28 C on Wednesday but the temperature will then plummet to a much more seasonable 19 C on Thursday before falling further to a high of 16 C on Friday.

The average daytime high this time of year is 18.8C, making the recent run of hot weather particularly unusual.

The hot weather hasn’t just been limited to the Greater Toronto Area, either.

Toronto was just one of 13 communities in which a temperature record was broken on Tuesday, according to Environment Canada.