Hot weather to continue in France as more temperature records broken

Summer-like temperatures are set to continue throughout this week in France. It comes after over 150 October heat records were broken on Sunday.

Hundreds of weather stations recorded highs above 30C (in the shade), with the mercury reaching 34C in Creuse.

There is no sign of the warm weather letting up until next weekend (October 14 and 15).

Rainstorms were originally forecast to appear midweek but are now not expected until Saturday afternoon, and not a drop of rain is predicted in France before then.

This, combined with sunny skies, means temperatures will remain around the levels seen at the end of last week for another five days.

The majority of the country will see highs of 25C or higher, and these could even reach 31C in the south-west – not as high as the previous two weekends, but still considerably above October norms.

It is likely this will contribute to this month becoming the hottest October on record, following in September’s footsteps.

Records broken all over France

A rise in the temperature over the weekend saw October heat records across the country smashed.

Unlike last week’s record-breaking heat – which was largely situated in the south-west and centre-west – cities all over France were affected.

Originally, forecasters expected the warm weather to again be situated mostly around Toulouse, but this was not the case.

A weekend high of 33.9C in Luc-en-Provence (Var) was the second-hottest seen, and other areas in the south-west including Orange (31.2C) and Aix (31.4C) also broke local records.

However, in the north and Brittany, temperatures were also high such as in Brest (28.1C), Lorient (28.4C) and in Nantes (30.2C).

The absolute hottest temperature recorded was 34C in Aubusson (Creuse), breaking the previous record there of 33.4C which was only set the previous weekend.

At 08:00 on Sunday, temperatures there had already reached 31C.

All in all 186 records were broken, said meteorologist Guillaume Sechet.

When will it finally get cooler?

It seems as if every week the inevitable turn to traditional autumnal weather gets pushed back.

Warm winds from tropical anticyclones are still pushing into France, both from the Atlantic coast and up through Spain – and this is why temperatures are generally warmer in the south-west.

This, combined with the sunny skies and lack of rainfall, is the perfect mix to keep temperatures high in the country.

Forecasters are predicting heavy rainfall across most of France on Saturday, however, that will bring temperatures partly down, and help begin to replenish France’s water reserves.

The extension of summer weather this far into the traditional autumn season is causing concern for farmers who are seeing produce destroyed by the weather.

Read more: Trees in France bloom like in spring as weather disrupts nature cycles

In Savoy, some orchards are blooming five months early, causing what should be next year’s harvest to waste away unused. It is predicted that up to 20% of produce will be lost this autumn due to early blooming.

In addition, trees are unable to undergo their necessary resting period over winter, making them more vulnerable to any (likely) intense weather phenomena next year, or to deal with pests, which could cause long-term risk and destroy fruit trees that are dozens of years old.

There are fears that usual autumn rainfall levels will not be reached, and combined with increased water usage from the high temperatures, could exacerbate France’s struggle against drought.

Read more:

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