Open in full screen mode Montreal, as good other Canadian cities, experienced a white Christmas. The mercury there reached 5°C. The Canadian Press A large part of Canada experienced a warmer Christmas than usual on Monday, where the mercury remained above zero in several provinces. In Montreal, the white landscape that covered the city at the beginning of December, when a storm left several centimeters of snow on the ground, seemed very distant. Temperatures peaked at midday in the metropolis at 5°C, according to data from Environment Canada, and traces of snow were rare. In Quebec, the mercury reached 2.4°C around 1 p.m. It rained until' in Kuujjuaq on December 25 with a daily temperature record. Decidedly, a very mild month of December in Quebec, highlighted Environment Canada on the social networkThe average maximum daily temperature in Montreal in December is -1.4°C, according to Environment Canada data compiled between 1981 and 2010.
The mild weather in Montreal allowed fans to surf on the St. Lawrence River on December 25.< /p>
The situation was similar in the Maritimes, while Fredericton, New Brunswick, also experienced a maximum temperature of 5 °C Monday.
In Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, we reaches a temperature of 6°C.
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On the Ontario side, it' It was the fog that caught the attention: a warning covering all areas between Niagara and Belleville, in the eastern part of the province, was issued by Environment Canada.
Prairie towns also had an unusually brown Christmas this year, with many not receiving only a few centimeters of snow in December.
In Edmonton, for example, less than four centimeters of snow fell in December. Almost all of the snow cover has already melted.
In British Columbia, Environment Canada has issued several wind and rain warnings along the coast, particularly on Vancouver Island, due to the arrival of a low pressure system.
This start of winter above seasonal norms has complicated the lives of winter sports enthusiasts.
If the ski resorts have for the most part been able to open, notably thanks to the addition of artificial snow, the skaters were less fortunate.
High temperatures have prevented many municipalities from opening their outdoor rinks, with the exception of those that are refrigerated.
Hockey game on the Ottawa River, Christmas Eve
In Ottawa, people are worried particularly the Rideau Canal, which bills itself as the largest outdoor skating rink in the world. Last year, the rink did not open for the first time in 53 years.
On Monday lunchtime, Paul Allen wore a light coat that he half-zipped as he strolled along the canal with his wife, Hilary.
These are mixed emotions, admitted Mr. Allen when met by The Canadian Press. On the one hand, he was happy to be able to walk in pleasant weather, but on the other, he could not hide his nostalgia for the large amounts of snow from his childhood.
I think it's clear that climate change has something to do with it. We can no longer really deny it, added his wife.
The National Capital Commission, the d& ;#x27;State, which oversees the rink, said the canal can only open if there are at least 10 consecutive days of temperatures between -10°C and -20°C, which is happening generally in mid-January.
Last year, the ice at the Rideau Canal skating rink did not reach the thickness required to be considered safe. (Archive photo)
At the start of the season, Environment Canada predicted that winter would be warmer than usual.
Human-caused climate change and strong El Niño both contribute to this warming, the federal agency specified.
Usually, a El Niño winter means a mild winter, under the influence of this climatic phenomenon which is characterized by abnormally high water temperatures in the eastern part of the South Pacific Ocean, near the coasts of Ecuador, Peru and Chile.
Conditions warmer than in' x27;usual means that more precipitation will fall in the form of rain and less in the form of snow and the snow on the ground will tend to melt more quickly, we added.