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 April on record for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.1°C. The three-month period from February to April 2026 saw Canada's average temperature at -12.78°C, an anomaly of +1.2°C, making it the 20th warmest such period on record. Globally, this same three-month period was the 2nd warmest on record for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.2°C.
What changed
Canada's recent warmth contrasts with a colder start to 2026, particularly in Eastern Canada, which experienced extreme cold in early February. The country's 12-month rolling anomaly of +2.71°C places it as the 20th warmest out of 234 regions globally, indicating a significant long-term warming trend. Within North America, Canada's April anomaly of +1.51°C was warmer than the group average of +1.12°C, placing it as the 2nd warmest in the group for the month.
What’s driving change?
The warming trend in Canada is influenced by , where high northern latitudes warm at an accelerated rate. The () was in a positive phase in March 2026 (+2.69), following a negative phase in January (-0.36) and February (+0.68). A in early February contributed to colder conditions in Eastern Canada. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently in a Neutral phase, with an anomaly of +0.11°C for February-April 2026. However, a transition to El Niño conditions is strongly forecast, with a 61% probability for May-July 2026 and increasing to 87% by July-September 2026. This evolving El Niño phase typically brings warmer and drier conditions to Western Canada and milder winters to Eastern Canada. In terms of recent weather events, northern Manitoba experienced a major late-season winter storm in late April, bringing 30-50 cm of snow, freezing rain, and strong winds. This occurred while southern Manitoba saw much warmer temperatures, reaching 17-22°C.
Looking ahead
With El Niño conditions strongly forecast to develop through the summer, Canada can anticipate a higher likelihood of warmer-than-normal temperatures in the coming months, potentially contributing to 2026 being one of the hottest years 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.