Since being walloped by a snowstorm Monday, Canada鈥檚 largest city has been experiencing persistent problems with its transit infrastructure that have been compounded by drifting snow and days of arctic-like temperatures.
鈥淭he challenge that we have is that as quickly as crews can clear one part, another part has a drifting issue,鈥� Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) spokesperson Stuart Green told CTV Toronto.
The TTC operates the city鈥檚 subway, streetcar and bus lines.
鈥淪o you get the snow cleared from one area and then another section that you鈥檝e just cleared may have snow buildup,鈥� Green added. 鈥淚t's like trying to shovel your driveway when snow is falling very quickly.鈥�
According to Environment Canada data, temperatures in Toronto dipped as low as -23 degrees Celsius Thursday and felt more like -38 with the wind chill. The daytime high reached -15, but still felt closer to -27. On Thursday evening, it was actually warmer in Nunavut鈥檚 polar capital, Iqaluit.
Frigid temperatures, which are being blamed on polar air, have been experienced throughout North America this week.
The TTC鈥檚 Scarborough RT light rail line in the city鈥檚 east end was after being out of service since Monday. Delays were still expected Friday on the light rail line due to a 鈥渕echanical problem.鈥� The agency said that it would continue to operate 鈥渟upplement buses鈥� along the route. Replacement shuttle buses were causing major traffic congestion and long commutes earlier in the week.
鈥淚n extreme conditions like this, there may not be a lot we can do,鈥� Green said. 鈥淚 mean, that's the honest truth.鈥�
Similar issues have been plaguing the UP Express train, which connects downtown Toronto with Pearson International Airport. The train was running limited service of after several days of weather-related equipment problems.
鈥淲hat we're seeing is a problem with the cold on top of a very fine sugary granular snow,鈥� Metrolinx spokesperson Matt Llewellyn told CTV Toronto. Metrolinx is the Crown agency that operates the service. 鈥淭hink of it as sand. It seems to get everywhere.鈥�
POLAR VORTEX EXPLAINED
Paul Beckwith is a climate system scientist and a professor at the University of Ottawa.
The polar vortex, he told 麻豆传媒 Channel, is due to changes in atmospheric jet streams.
鈥淭here seems to be a break in the wall that separates the Arctic from lower latitudes,鈥� he explained. 鈥�(The jet stream) keeps cold, dry air up in the Arctic and the warmer, humid air further south. So the jet stream is extending very, very far south and we鈥檝e got this outbreak of arctic air coming deep down over North America.鈥�
Beckwith blames the phenomenon on global climate change.
鈥淲hat climate change does is it makes the weather whiplash,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t goes often from very, very cold temperatures to above zero temperatures for a few days and then it plunges back down to very cold temperatures, so we get all these freeze and thaw cycles occurring. And these are happening more often because of the jet streams being disrupted from climate change, from the warming Arctic.鈥�
