Canada is heading into another year of extreme heat, with 2026 forecast to be among the hottest on record as global temperatures continue to climb well above pre-industrial levels, Environment and Climate Change Canada warns.

According to Global News website, this summer’s heat is expected to match the record-breaking global heat waves seen in 2023 and 2025, Environment and Climate Change Canada said. Temperatures could also approach those recorded in 2024, the warmest year ever observed.

“Based on current modelling, the global mean temperature in 2026 is predicted to fall in the range of 1.35 °C and 1.53 °C above pre-industrial levels, meaning that global temperatures will remain at least 1.0 °C above pre-industrial levels for the 13th consecutive year. Looking ahead, Canada’s long-term forecasts indicate that the period from 2026 to 2030 will likely be the hottest five-year period on record,” the agency said.


Global temperatures are projected to remain 1.35 to 1.53 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages.

This would mark the 13th straight year that global temperatures exceed levels recorded before the Industrial Revolution. Officials also project that Canada will experience its hottest five-year period on record from 2026 to 2030.

Across Canada, last year’s severe heat wave broke 51 daily temperature records and pushed the number of days above 30°C to record levels in multiple cities.

Data from Environment and Climate Change Canada shows the June 2024 heat wave was made up to 10 times more likely due to human-caused climate change. By the second half of this century, many Canadian cities are projected to average at least four times as many days above 30°C as in the past, the Canadian Climate Institute said.