Fort Simpson 'warmer than Toronto' for days as heat wave hits southern N.W.T.

CBC News

· Posted: May 29, 2025 6:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Much of the South Slave is experiencing precocious temperatures, arsenic a acold wintertime gives mode to a blistery spring. 

In the Northwest Territories, Fort Smith was expected to scope 31 C connected Thursday. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, determination person besides been heat informing successful Fort Chipewyan since Monday, mounting a grounds of 32.2 C. 

Fort Smith nonmigratory Don Bourque says helium plans to enactment inside.

"It'll beryllium excessively blistery for maine to adjacent spell outside," Bourque said. "I got tons of enactment to bash extracurricular my location but it's excessively overmuch heat. I can't vie with that."

Dave Phillips, a elder climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said Fort Simpson has been "warmer than Toronto" for the past 2 weeks. 

"It's surely unseasonably warm," Phillips said. 

Phillips said the lukewarm temperatures are coming from a low-pressure strategy from the south, which is being pushed into the N.W.T. 

He besides said the summertime is expected to beryllium "warmer than normal" crossed the territory, and the country. 

Adam McNab, Fort Smith's manager of protective services, said utmost vigor and adust conditions summation wildfire risk.

"Any occurrence connected the landscape has the imaginable to spread," McNab said. 

Right now, the municipality of Fort Smith has a afloat occurrence prohibition successful place.

"The upwind is besides making it precise utmost occurrence weather, arsenic acold arsenic heat, decidedly effort and find a chill spot successful your home," McNab said. 

"Make definite that your curtains are drawn. Stay chill and enactment hydrated," helium added. 

He besides said contempt each the areas that burned successful the 2023 occurrence season, occurrence hazard astir Fort Smith remains high.

He said residents request to workout heightened consciousness and caution.

Fire information was precocious to utmost crossed the Dehcho and South Slave regions connected Thursday. Environment Canada expects cooler temperatures aboriginal this week.