International Students

Calgary is the sunniest major city in Canada, getting an average of 2,300 hours of sunshine per year. Whether hot or cold, you can almost always count on sunshine in the city.

Calgary's weather is varied and constantly changing, cycling through all four seasons throughout the year. Temperatures in Calgary are generally mild, especially compared to most other cities in Canada.

In the summer, temperature highs are typically in the low-to-mid twenties (degrees Celsius), occasionally surpassing 30 degrees C, but cooling off comfortably in the evenings.

In the winter, temperatures can be frigid (lows reaching below -30 degrees C), mild (highs above 10 degrees C), or anything in between. Typically, freezing temperatures only last for a few weeks per year.

One of Calgary's most distinct weather characteristics is the Chinook. This warm wind blows in from the Pacific Ocean and can raise temperatures by 15 degrees (or even more!) in just a few hours, providing a pleasant relief from chilly winter weather.

The earliest human settlers in the prairies where Calgary is situated lived here 12,000 years ago.

Before European traders arrived, the area was the home of four main First Nation tribes in the Blackfoot Confederacy: the Peigan, the Blood, the Blackfoot, and the Tsuut’ina.

It is thought that the first European to see the area was Hudson's Bay Company trader David Thompson, who arrived in 1787.