Cold front to bring relief in Central Canada, but heat wave continues on coasts

As a cold front brought some temperature relief to parts of Ontario after a multi-day heat wave, regions from coast to coast to coast in Canada braced for sweltering conditions to last into the weekend.

The unseasonable heat threatened to break daily temperature records in the north and other parts of the country, capping a week that saw one unofficial analysis record earth's hottest day on record.

An updated heat warning issued Friday morning for southern Quebec says a hot and humid air mass would stall over the province until Sunday, making it feel like around 35 degrees Celsius during the day and offering little overnight relief.

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Heat warnings remained in place for eastern Ontario, including Ottawa, but Environment Canada had lifted weather alerts for the rest of the province after a punishing week of hot and humid weather.

In British Columbia, heat warnings remained for inland sections from the north to central coast and in the Fraser Canyon area east of Vancouver. Daytime highs between 30 and 35 degrees Celsius were expected through Sunday.

On the east coast, it was forecasted to feel like 40 degrees in parts of New Brunswick and 36 degrees in Nova Scotia given the humid conditions. Most of Prince Edward Island was expected to see temperatures in the high 20s, while a slice of Newfoundland and Labrador, around Churchill Falls, was also under a heat warning.

Earth's average temperature set a record high of 17.23 degrees Celsius on Thursday, according to the University of Maine's Climate Reanalyzer, a tool that uses satellite data and computer simulations to measure the world's condition. It was the third such unofficial milestone in a week already rated as the hottest on record.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration distanced itself from the university's analysis Thursday, saying it could not confirm data that results in part from computer modeling. But the agency recognized the earth was in a period of warmth due to climate change.

Temperatures in parts of Canada's north were forecasted to compete with record daily highs as Environment Canada issued heat warning in the Yukon and Northwest Territories expected to last through the weekend.

In central Northwest Territories, including Fort Simpson, the agency said the unseasonable heat could persist into late next week. In Inuvik, the forecast called for temperatures in the low 30s for Friday and Saturday, on par with daily record highs, according to Environment Canada dating back to 1957.

Special air quality statements are in effect in northern parts of B.C., Alberta and Quebec due to forest fires.

A woman walks her dogs to cool them off in the waters of the Ottawa River in the Ottawa suburb of Constance Bay on Tuesday, July 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick