I always had a feeling that it was much hotter in the summers of the 1950s and 1960s than it has been in recent years. Did it feel like it because of the manual tasks we were doing such as forking loose hay and milking cows by hand?
When our family immigrated in September of 1953, I was four years old and remember it was hot and very dry in Renfrew County. My parents were used to the tall lush crops in Holland and here the landscape was brown and tinder dry.
I did research to find out if I was dreaming these things, or if many summer days were scorchers. 1953 was indeed a summer with many hot days. In fact, on February 19, 1953 it was 11.7 C and two days later it was 12.2 C, both record temperatures. In August of 1953, there were four days at the end of the month when there were record high temperatures from 35 to 35.6 C. The first and fourth day of September of 1953 had record temperatures of 33.9 and 35 C. There were also record temperatures in January, July, October, November and December of 1953.
There were also record hot days of 36.7 C on August 1, 1955 and 37.1 C on August 3 1988.
According to Environment Canada, the highest extreme temperature in Ottawa since weather record keeping began in 1891 was 37.4 C on July 4, 1913; 37.8 C on August 1, 1917 and 37.8 on August 11 and 14, 1944.
Is it true that global warming is happening, or is it just a lot of hype and scare tactics? Scientific data suggests that warming and cooling periods are more likely the world’s natural state over the long march into history.
Dr. Robert B. Stewart, a former Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada climatologist, did a research paper for the Kemptville-based Eastern Ontario Model Forest entitled Is the Climate Changing in Eastern Ontario.
Using 1890-2011 weather data collected from Ottawa’s Central Experimental Farm, Dr. Stewart averaged out weather in 30-year chunks. You can see it on the Internet by typing in “1890 to 2011 weather data for eastern Ontario”.
It’s very interesting research. Here are some highlights from Dr. Stewart:
* Contrary to the warming that has occurred over the last century extremes in hot days with temperatures of 20, 25 and 30°C, rather than increasing, have declined over the last century by 4 to 6 days per year.
On the other hand, the number of extreme cold days with minimum temperatures of ‐10, ‐20 and ‐30°C has declined considerably ‐- roughly 19 days for temperatures of ‐10°C, 11 days for temperatures of ‐20°C, and 3 days for temperatures of ‐30°C.
* The number of cold days of ‐10, ‐20 and ‐30°C has steadily been declining over the eleven 30‐year average periods ‐- roughly 19 days for temperatures of 10°C, 11 days for temperatures of ‐20°C, and 3 days for temperatures of‐30°C.
* Winters in Ottawa have warmed significantly over the last century with a considerable decrease in number of extreme cold days in winter. Comparing summer to winter the record also clearly shows that the majority of the warming that has taken place over the last century has taken place during the winter period.
* The growing season in Eastern Ontario is two to three weeks longer than a century ago. The growing season has been advanced by one to two weeks in the spring and extended by about a week in the fall. Although the growing season is longer, the average growing season temperatures have not changed appreciably.
* Average growing season precipitation levels have increased by 80 to 100mm over the last century and the number of rain days has increased by 13 to 19 days per year.
* In terms of heat extremes, summers today appear to be less extreme with the number of hot days, 30°C experienced by Eastern Ontario being about five days less per year than a century ago.
* Summers today, because of the increase in minimum temperatures, may be generally warmer than a century ago, but are not hotter.
There you have it. Our fathers and grandfathers experienced hotter summers.
