By Alexa Battler
After an aggressively cold winter gripped most of Canada, this summer seems to be burning with a similar vengeance.
In a recent blog post, Conor Anderson, PhD Candidate in the Climate Lab at U of T Scarborough, explored the heat of this summer in the context of the last 30 years.
Anderson found that 2018, which has experienced three heat warnings, is actually not far above the average amount of heat warnings over the last 30 years (2.72 warnings). But temperatures between June 1 and July 15 made this year the third-warmest summer since 1988.
Alexa Battler spoke to Anderson about the heat we’ve experienced this summer and the science behind what accounts for hot weather in Toronto.
You found that this summer, the mean temperature for both day and night was about a degree-and-a-half warmer than the 30-year average. Why has it felt like such a hot summer?
It has felt like a hot summer this year because it has been a hot summer! The nighttime temperature was the most affected, it seems. This summer especially we’ve had a couple of really nasty warm periods, which have nudged those averages up.
Of course, we can put a special emphasis on your use of the word “felt” in this question: I think it is human nature to feel the extremes rather than the “every day” weather. We’ve had lots of days this summer that saw temperatures in the low- to mid-20s, close to what we’d expect as “seasonal” for Toronto. Those don’t tend to be the days that stick out in our memory, though.