Toronto issues extreme cold weather alert as temperatures plummet

The City of Toronto has declared an Extreme Cold Weather Alert on Wednesday as temperatures plummet in the city.

Toronto’s medical officer of health of issued the alert as temperatures are expected to hit -20°C with windchill. The alert will be in effect until further notice. Temperatures are expected to rise on Sunday.

The alert comes as temperatures in the city are expected to fall to -11°C overnight, with a windchill of -19°C. Temperatures will stay below zero until the weekend when mild and rainy weather will replace it.

Toronto forecast/Environment Canada

With the alert, the City will activate more services to protect the most vulnerable. The City’s four warming centres have been open since January 7, they also have an outreach team on the street, but activists say it is not enough.

So far in 2022, at least two people experiencing houselessness in Toronto froze to death in a bus shelter. Many shelters are still dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks, leaving people feeling unsafe accessing their services.

We still don’t know his name.

We know he died Feb 4, but nothing more.
We can’t grieve him or honour his memory – because we still don’t know who he was.

The tragic thing is –
We thought we had identified him. [cont] pic.twitter.com/DJvddQeHZO

— Lorraine Lam (@lorrainelamchop) February 26, 2022

The City’s four Warming Centres are located at:

• 129 Peter Street
• 5800 Yonge Street
• Exhibition Place, Better Living Centre, 195 Princes’ Boulevard.
• Scarborough Civic Centre, 150 Borough Drive.