Canada Climate
Top 5 Cities: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa
This month in numbers
Canada experienced an April that was 1.5°C warmer than the 1961–1990 baseline, ranking as the 16th warmest April in 86 years of records. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest on record for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.1°C. The three-month period from February to April 2026 also saw Canada's average temperature at -12.78°C, an anomaly of +1.2°C, making it the 20th warmest such period on record.
What changed
Canada's recent warmth is part of a broader trend, with the country warming at more than twice the global rate, and northern regions warming three times as quickly. This past April's anomaly of +1.5°C was notably warmer than the North American group average of +1.12°C for the same month. The country has experienced a consistently warmer trend, with 2025 being the 2nd warmest year on record.
What’s driving change?
The persistent warmth in Canada is largely driven by , where high northern latitudes are warming significantly faster than the global average. This is compounded by the ongoing human-induced global warming. The current ENSO state is Neutral, with a strong forecast for El Niño developing in the coming months, which typically brings warmer and drier conditions to Western Canada and milder winters to Eastern Canada. Canada has also seen a concerning start to its wildfire season, with early fires reported in Alberta and on Vancouver Island in February and April, respectively, amidst dry conditions and early heat. Additionally, a major blizzard impacted Atlantic Canada in late February, bringing heavy snowfall and strong winds. Flooding has also been a significant concern across parts of Ontario and Quebec in April due to heavy rains and melting snow. More information on extreme weather can be found at Extreme Weather tracker and on ENSO at ENSO tracker.
Looking ahead
Canada's long-term forecasts indicate that the period from 2026 to 2030 will likely be the hottest five-year period on record.
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for Canada
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) — see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in Canada changing?
Canada is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for Canada come from?
Climate data for Canada comes from Our World in Data, sourcing Copernicus ERA5 and HadCRUT5 (national temperature anomaly) and the Global Carbon Project via Our World in Data (CO₂ emissions), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the Canada climate data cover?
The Canada climate profile covers Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and surrounding areas. Temperature, rainfall and emissions data for Canada
How often is the Canada climate update refreshed?
The Canada climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.