An unseasonably warm February has Ontarians ditching their parkas for sweatshirts and tees.
Images courtesy: Oakville Sun/India McAlister
Broken Records
Toronto has officially broken the February record for the warmest recorded temperature.
The high of 16.5 C reached at noon at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport surpassed the previous record of 16 C set on February 3rd of last year.
In Halton Region temperatures reached 18.3 C, according to readings from the Burlington Piers weather station.
It has been an unseasonably warm winter. Prior to today’s record breaker February 18th was the warmest day so far in 2017. In Halton it clocked in at 14.6 C according to Environment Canada.
Last year on this date the high on the Burlington Piers was recorded at 5.9 C.
Average temperatures in February tend to hover closer to 1 C.
On the flip side, February 2015 was the coldest in recorded history. At the Burlington Piers the high on this date was -6 degrees.
An Alarming Pattern
The large fluctuations in weather patterns from one extreme to another are widely attributed to global warming.
Arctic ice was reported to be at record lows according to researchers. The decrease in polar ice has been a pattern of the past three years.
According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, Arctic sea ice was at its lowest January levels since satellites began monitoring the polar ice caps in 1979.
Climate scientists and environmental activists continue to warn that the overall rise in global temperatures will have catastrophic effects on the planet.
As for this weekend?
Enjoy the mild weather while you can.
Temperatures will continue to remain on the warmer side into March but are expected to drop back into the single digits.
It is expected to be 8C in Toronto on Saturday, going down to 4 on Sunday. By Thursday it will be back closer to the 2 degree mark.
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