AskACanadian

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someguy3@lemmy.ca

What is like to experience the summer season (June-Sept) in the major cities of Canada? (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by Delvin4519@lemmy.world to c/askacanadian@lemmy.ca

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So I am around as far north/as "cold" (a.k.a "least hot") as I can get for any large, major city, south of the southern border. So there are no more large, major cities that have less hot summers than the one I am in right now, except for those that are in Canada.

I am curious on what are the summers like in these 6 Canadian cities specifically, in terms of actual human experience:

Toronto
Ottawa
Winnipeg
Edmonton
Calgary
Vancouver

How would you describe the summers in these cities? Is it generally comfortable (too hot/cold)? How widespread is AC adapation (percentage wise/etc), and where can I find data on this topic? Is air conditioning universal? Is AC something that is needed every day, or is it only necessary to use it on only rare occassions? How many days are too hot to do rigourous physical activities outdoors?

I know I can already consult the average and percentile data for any city globally, and I did do so already, but an average and percentile can only tell so much. Averages cannot necessarily describe how widespread the local population is going to adapt AC, or if a summer "feels comfortable or not" to a person. (In Melbourne Australia, the average maximum is "only" 26C, but since it can hit 44C then they'd still adapt AC even if it's 2C "colder" than my city).

I am coming from a baseline of 28C as the average daily maximum, 19C for average minimum, and 18C for dew point. A typical year seems a mean absolute maximum around 36C, but this summer has reached 39C with the heat index higher. 94% of households have air conditioning within my current area. So that is my reference point.

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[–] Canconda@lemmy.ca 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Specifically to answer your AC question: There's no general law. There are local regulations that require some level of heating/temperature control. But for the most part new buildings have AC while older one's you may need to install a window unit yourself.

Being further north means that days are shorter so you have more opportunity to use night time lows to cool the house down. Houses are generally built to be more heat efficient in Canada. Roofs are more insulated and windows block UV light. All good for keeping the heat out during the day until you can open the windows at night.

[–] Warehouse@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

In the summer, days are longer though. Where I live there's technically no scientifically defined night from late May to early August. It's never dark enough.

[–] Canconda@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Yes but not where OP is inquiring. I'm comparing day lengths 200km +/- the 49th parallel. Which is relevant to cooling your house down at night using the ambient temperature.

It can be the difference between 1 or 4 hours of below 20C temps at night. Which is huge if you're trying to use less AC.

[–] Warehouse@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

They're inquiring about Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg, three places where this is the case.

[–] Canconda@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Edmonton yea. Calgary is right in line with what I'm talking about tho. Winnipeg is even further south. Honestly would have been more appropriate as a separate comment than a disagreement with mine IMO.

[–] Warehouse@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 days ago

Yeah probably.

[–] hefty4871@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Toronto is under its fifth heat warning this year, outpacing the number of heat events that happened last year, according to a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

[–] Delvin4519@lemmy.world -2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I'm not too surprised with Toronto, since it seems to be only 1.6-1.7C colder than the city I am in right now, straight across the board in terms of summertime averages/records/percentiles. I've had about 5 or 6 days at 35C+ so far this summer, and Toronto seems to have 5-6 days above 33-34C in comparsion based on the data I've seen. I've occasionally found the temperature difference becomes hard to notice with Toronto, and it's heat wave criteria is only 1C lower than the threshold in my current area.

But the other 5 Canadian cities I've listed outside of Toronto seem a lot more interesting as the temperature difference in averages is greater, which makes me more curious whether the lower summer temperatures has a noticable impact on experience/quality of life/AC usage or not. Do the other 5 Canadian cities actually have more tolerable summers in actual human experience?

[–] Canconda@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 days ago

Well first off the hottest area in Western Canada is the interior of BC, so between Vancouver & Calgary. The area is very mountainous so weather varies greatly across the region. Lows tend to be colder than on the coast. More snow due to higher elevation. Snow tends to melt between snowfalls. Daytime temps during winter can peak over 0 and drop back down to -10 to -15 at night. Summer highs are mid 35s.

Vancouver: Lots of rain. Less snow due to elevation and often melts or doesn't stick. Typically overcast. Winter lows average above -10.

Calgary / Winnipeg: Colder winters with snow that tends to stay frozen. Winter lows can be much colder, and highs below 0. Summertime is mild compared to hotter areas.

I've only visited the other cities briefly so I can't really speak to their averages. I've seen it pour rain at 30C+ in Ontario. It's much more humid than BC's interior. But the province is also massive so weather will vary.