Montreal Is Colder Than Antarctica's McMurdo Base Right Now... Literally

Bundle up! It's colder out there than McMurdo base... actually. Environment Canada lists the temperature in Montreal as -16 C at 10:00 a.m. while the Antarctic station was sitting in a balmy -5 C as of 9:40 a.m. Eastern Time, according to the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) website.

The wind chill difference is equally striking: it's -25 in Montreal and -10 at McMurdo as of the same times.

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To be fair, Antarctica is approaching summer right now while Montreal heads into its coldest months. 

And given that the temperature at McMurdo can reach 8 C in the summer, the USAP says, it's likely that there will be many more days when Montreal is colder.

But the comparison is nonetheless striking as a polar vortex batters Canada, according to The Weather Network.

"Some places in Canada have seen, or are set to see, wind chills as low as -50 this week, as the effects of the polar vortex shoots frigid, Arctic air southward and eastward," the network says.

Environment Canada has also issued extreme cold warnings for some Quebec regions well north of Montreal.

In the Gouin Reservoir area, for example, the agency says the wind chill was "between -38 and -40 this morning."

As for the metropolis, Environment Canada forecasts daily highs between -14 and -8 C between Wednesday and Saturday.

This article's cover image is used for illustrative purposes only.