October saw 'extraordinary, record-setting heat' in parts of Arctic Canada

In late October, when there's usually snow on the ground in Kangiqsujuaq, Que., and chillier weather, Peter Qissiq instead went out ice skating in a pair of shorts.

"It's not pretty cold yet," he said. "To me it was amazing, skating with shorts on."

While he described the day as beautiful, Qissiq said it might point to something else.

"Climate change," he said, "is here."

Qisiiq, 47, said he remembers having "lots" of snow in October, when he would go hunting by snowmobile. This year, he said, people are hunting by other modes, like canoes.

Qisiiq is not the only northerner to notice the warm weather.

October "produced extraordinary, record-setting heat" across Nunavut, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The agency said on Twitter that across 22 climate stations, 135 daily maximum temperature records were broken. Many parts of Nunavut averaged 5 C above normal, with a large area above 8 C.

Arviat, Cambridge Bay, Baker Lake, Rankin and Resolute had the warmest October on record. Nunavik also saw warmer than usual temperatures. 

There has also been a reduction in ice concentration, the agency said, with data showing large areas of the Arctic that would normally be ice-covered this time of year still ice-free.

In the first six days of the month alone, Nunavut communities saw 47 daily record temperature records broken.

David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said this warmth came from southerly air with high pressure sitting in eastern Canada.

Leo Ikakhik, 58, has spent his whole life in Arviat, Nunavut, which sits on the western coast of Hudson Bay. He remembers the roads in town and the land being covered with snow in October. 

"It seems like every year it's really slow freezing up," Ikakhik said.