A scorching weekend forecast as heat wave in Halifax continues

CITYnews halifax / By Mike Lacasse

Environment Canada says that a heat warning for Halifax and most of the province will continue throughout the weekend and into next week.

According to the weather agency, the high temperatures and scorching humidex will continue until Wednesday.

“Currently, warning conditions are not expected for the southwestern corner of the province, however these conditions may begin to be met in that area on Sunday,” wrote officials. “At this time, temperatures and humidex values are expected to peak Monday through Wednesday afternoon.”

The majority of the areas impacted include mainland Nova Scotia, except for Digby, Yarmouth and Shelburne Counties.

Daytime temperatures will be between 28 to 32 C, and including humidex, could reach as high as 39 C. There will be little relief overnight, with temperatures expected to be between 18 to 20 C.

However, the weather service says that conditions will improve across the province on Wednesday night.

Data from the Climate Atlas of Canada shows the number of days where temperatures are above 30 C have been increasing steadily.

According to the organization, between 1976 and 2005 a mean of 0.9 days were above 30 C, now between 2021 and 2050 it believes we could see a mean of 3.4 days.

The heat map shows projections for Halifax won’t increase nearly as quick for areas not along the coast.