Toronto sets new temperature high for May 31, beats 78-year-old record

Toronto set a new, daily temperature record for May 31 — shattering a previous mark that was set 78 years ago.

According to Environment Canada, the city last recorded the highest temperature for the day in 1944 — at 31.1 C.

The weather agency says a temperature of 32.1 C was observed at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport as of  2 p.m. today.

Daily high temperature record from 1944 unofficially broken @TorontoPearson today. Temp is still rising too. pic.twitter.com/Jz53Iqesot

— Natasha Ramsahai (@CityNatasha) May 31, 2022

This comes on the heels of a heat warning for Toronto, along with some other areas including Peel, Windsor-Essex, York and Durham regions, where maximum temperatures in the low 30s were expected throughout the day.

CityNews meteorologist Natasha Ramsahai says minimum temperatures in the low 20s will provide little relief from the heat Tuesday night, but cooler air is likely on Wednesday. It will become less humid in the late afternoon and evening, Ramsahai notes.

Monday’s heat did not break a record, with the high reaching 31.9 C. The still existing heat record was set in 1987 when temperatures reached a balmy 33 C.

Ramsahai predicted that a record would be set today, just surpassing 32 C.

Blair Feltmate, head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo, says the new record set in Toronto is “climate change in action.”

‘Very warm and humid summer’ predicted for Ontario

Seasonal or higher than normal temperatures across much of the country will offer Canadians a chance to enjoy the summer, but predictions from a prominent national forecaster warn the humidity could welcome a rather stormy few months.

Chris Scott, the chief meteorologist at The Weather Network, says the heat coupled with an active jet stream will lead to above-normal precipitation that runs across the Prairies through to Ontario and Quebec.

People practise physical distancing as they enjoy the hot weather at Sugar Beach during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on May 26, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

In Ontario and Quebec, most of the region is likely to experience a “very warm and humid summer” that doesn’t quite touch the levels of last year’s sweltering June.

“We’re going to see a lot of warm weather, a lot of dry days,” he said, ahead of the start of the meteorological summer on June 1. The official start of summer is June 21.

Scott doesn’t anticipate a duplication of the “extremely rare” severe wind and thunderstorm that swept through Ontario and Quebec on May 21, but he urges Canadians — particularly campers — to be vigilant when it comes to fast-moving weather patterns.

With files from The Canadian Press