TORONTO (AP) — Schools were closed in Canada's largest city of Toronto and commuters faced severe delays on Thursday as heavy snow continued to hammer much of southern Ontario, blocking streets and forcing cars into ditches.
Environment Canada said regions including the Greater Toronto Area, Kitchener and Hamilton are expected to see up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) of snow into Thursday afternoon.
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Pedestrians cross Bay Street along Front Street amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)
Pedestrians, obscured by snow thrown by workers cleaning a work site overhead, cross Adelaide Street along Yonge Street amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)
Pedestrians cross Adelaide Street along Yonge Street amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)
A cargo cyclist rides along Adelaide Street East amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)
Commuters make their way to their destinations on King Street East amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto, York, Peel and Halton Region schools closed Thursday morning, and institutions including the University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University and York University announced their campuses were closed.
Complete school closures due to snow are rare in Toronto.
Environment Canada said the Ottawa area will see up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of snow, tapering off Thursday evening. It added that northerly wind gusts of up to 60 kilometers (37 milies) per hour will result in blowing snow and reduced visibility, and a sharp temperature drop will cause very cold wind chills.
Provincial police advised residents to stay off the roads if possible, and officers responded to dozens of collisions and cars in ditches. Police said there were multiple road closures across southern Ontario, including ramps at the Highway 403 near the Burlington and Hamilton border and parts of Highway 401 in eastern Ontario.
Both Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow cancelled public events Thursday due to the inclement weather.
At Toronto’s Pearson airport, officials said air traffic management procedures were in place and impacting some arriving and departing flights.
Travellers were advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport, where snow clearing operations were underway.
Pedestrians cross Bay Street along Front Street amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)
Pedestrians, obscured by snow thrown by workers cleaning a work site overhead, cross Adelaide Street along Yonge Street amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)
Pedestrians cross Adelaide Street along Yonge Street amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)
A cargo cyclist rides along Adelaide Street East amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)
Commuters make their way to their destinations on King Street East amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.
Around midday, Iranian state television carried a statement from the country's Civil Aviation Authority saying that the nation's “skies are hosting incoming and outgoing flights, and airports are providing services to passengers.” It did not acknowledge the closure.
Iran previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. However, there were no signs of current hostilities though the closure immediately rippled through global aviation.
“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”
Iran in the past has misidentified a commercial aircraft as a hostile target. In 2020, Iranian air defense shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. Iran for days adamantly dismissed allegations of downing the plane as Western propaganda before finally acknowledging it.
The airspace closure came as some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” going to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Iran at the request of the United States on Thursday afternoon.
U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements Wednesday that left unclear what American action, if any, would take place against Iran.
In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. The shift comes a day after Trump told protesters in Iran that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sought to tone down the rhetoric, urging the U.S. to find a solution through negotiation.
Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: “My message is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don’t have any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much better than war.”
The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran came hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands who have been detained.
Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon. The security forces’ crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
A man looks at books which are placed for sale on a sidewalk in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People walk on a sidewalk in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man walks on a sidewalk in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Women cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A woman mourns next to the flag-draped coffins of a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, during their funeral ceremony, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man hands out posters of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a funeral ceremony for a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People take part in a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, Berlin Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Policemen protect the British Embassy during a protest by hardline supporters of the Iranian government, as people ride on their motorbike in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
