Journal: News & Comment

Break out the woolies

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Tonight it is supposed to be 8 degrees below zero Celsius in Vancouver. However, at my slight altitude here in Burnaby, it's already below –7°C at 4:40 p.m. (it never went above –3 today), so it will probably be –10 overnight, which is about as cold as it ever gets here.

There are several microclimates in this city right now. As I returned home from downtown yesterday, for instance, I noticed that, while the city centre has pretty much no snow on the ground (it all melted New Year's Eve), even less than a kilometre away from the office towers, the ground is covered by the white stuff—the heat from all the buildings and people and vehicles makes things just a little warmer.

Back here at my place, a mere 15 minutes away by rapid transit, and a couple of hundred metres above sea level, it still looks like a ski resort.

UPDATE 10:30 p.m.: Minus 10 it is. Apparently the Vancouver sea-level record for this day was –13°C, in 1950.

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