Southern Quebec farmers feeling the heat after stretch of dry, hot weather

CTV News

a day ago

As the month of August continues to bring dry weather for Southern Quebec, farmers are feeling the heat.
As the month of August continues to bring dry weather for Southern Quebec, farmers are feeling the heat.
At Ferme Marineau in Laval, it looks like pumpkin season, but farmer Matis Marineau is not so pleased.
'It's not supposed to be this [orange] colour at this time of the year. It's too soon,' he says.
Prematurely ripened crops are but one sign of an exceptionally hot and dry summer this year.
'We don't know if we are going to lose the size of the pumpkins too. Some are smaller than usually,' Marineau told CTV News.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), average precipitation in southern Quebec ranges from 80 to 90 millimeters in August.
Except for showers on Aug. 13, climatologists say the last significant rainfall in the region was in July.
'July was above normal in terms of precipitation very locally, mostly due to two main events. One towards the middle of July, one just in the first couple of weeks of July. That really gave the bulk of the precipitation,' said ECCC meteorologist Steven Flisfeder.
For Marineau, the inconsistent rain has meant a greater workload. It's meant dedicating more resources to irrigating his crops.
'We have the chance to have a lot of water to irrigate the field. But some don't have this chance and for them it's a big loss of money,' he says.
With daytime highs above the seasonal 25 C expected to continue, the loss could be greater still.
'Our fire danger map has been a bit what we call, a bit of a yo-yo. It's gone up and down,' Melanie Morin says.
As a fire information officer for SOPFEU, Morin is urging Montrealers to stay alert.
'Today we're back down to moderate fire danger, but that is usually only a short-term relief. And we can see that by tomorrow, fire dangers are back up to high, and to very high. And by Saturday, extreme for the Outaouais, extreme for the Montreal area and very high for the Laurentians,' she says.
SOPFEU is advising extreme caution. Don't burn waste, don't leave campfires unattended and watch where you put cigarette butts.