A polar vortex currently hovering over Siberia has produced the coldest temperatures on Earth on record this year and could be heading towards Canada in early February.
• Also read: In a town in eastern Siberia, the thermometer shows minus 50 degrees Celsius
“We can see that a large area of British Columbia, the Prairies, the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and Northwestern Ontario are colder than normal in February,” David Phillips, chief meteorologist at Environment Canada, told CTV News. I think it’s a direct result of the southward descent of the polar vortex.”
A weather station in Siberia measured a temperature of -62.4 degrees Celsius on January 14th. That’s just 0.3 degrees above the average temperature on Mars, a temperature cold enough to freeze exposed skin in seconds. It is also the coldest temperature recorded in Russia in two decades.
“What we know so far is that most of it is over Siberia, which has led to temperature records,” said Doug Gillham, meteorologist at The Weather Network.
While western Canada can expect cold temperatures very soon, according to the Weather Channel, the largest cities in the east are on course to experience the warmest winter on record.
According to Gillham, southern Ontario and Quebec are at a crossroads between cold air from the northwest and warm air from the southeast, which could result in erratic weather when the polar vortex moves again.
“Being the combat zone means we will have a more active storm lane and therefore many chaotic weather systems, potentially heavy snowfall but also the likelihood of ice and rain,” he added.