A woman cools down in the water sprinklers at Dundas Square as they take in the extreme heat in Toronto on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. Environment Canada has issues a heat alert for the next few day in Southern Ontario and Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
June 20, 2012 - 8:57 AM
TORONTO - Summer officially begins today at 7:09 p.m. ET, but for many residents sweltering in a heat wave baking southern areas of Ontario and Quebec, it already feels like mid-summer.
Environment Canada has issued a humidex advisory for a large section of those provinces because of hot and humid air blowing in from the U.S.
Temperatures in much of southern Ontario got up to the low 30s yesterday with humidex readings in the low 40s.
Today’s forecast for the Montreal area calls for a high of 33 with a humidex of 43. Toronto's high is forecast at 35, and the city has issued an extreme heat alert and opened special cooling centres.
Environment Canada is advising the elderly and people with chronic illnesses to take it easy during the heat wave.
Dave Phillips, Environment Canada’s senior climatologist, says cooler air from the north should bring some relief to southern Ontario and southern Quebec by Friday.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012