Toronto's Medical Officer of Health has issued an Extreme Cold Weather Alert for Thursday as the temperature is expected to fall to -12C this evening.

The advisory is issued when Environment Canada forecasts a temperature of -15C or colder or a wind chill of -20 or colder in the City of Toronto.

The alert triggers cold weather services for homeless people, including TTC tokens for people to get to shelter, increased street outreach, and a direction to shelters to relax any service restrictions in place.

During January and February, two 24-hour extreme cold weather drop-ins are made available.

The public is encouraged to check on vulnerable friends, neighbours and family to ensure they are safe as the weather conditions change.