France bathes in record-breaking spring heat
The same weather pattern would cause temperatures of 40C if it happened in summer
Temperatures have hit record-breaking highs across much of France this week, with the mercury rising unexpectedly early in the month of April due to a “southeasterly anticyclonic” weather pattern.
High temperatures are 8-9C degrees above seasonal averages, forecaster Météo France said, with these conditions expected to continue “at least until Thursday”.
Even on the Atlantic coast, which typically sees cooler temperatures than the rest of the country, forecaster Météo France said that this Wednesday (April 7) saw “the mildest minimum temperature ever recorded for the month of April”.
This was exemplified by the Brest weather station, which recorded 16C in the morning, up from the 13.5C record previously set on April 29, 1994.
There were also highs of 27C in Redon, and Nantes, and temperatures of up to 26C in Lannion, Saint-Brieuc, and Saint-Malo (Brittany).
The mercury hit 20.3C in the streets of Chateauneuf-de-Randon (Lozère, Occitanie) on Monday (April 6), which is particularly notable given that it is situated at 1,200m altitude. This temperature is the highest recorded since the weather station was installed there 10 years ago.
The unusually warm weather led to mid-summer temperatures in some areas of the south, including:
Biscarosse (Landes): 30.5C at 17:00 on April 6 (highest temperature recorded since April 6 2011, said Météo-France)
Belin-Béliet (Gironde): 31.9C
Cambo-les-Bains (Pyrénées-Atlantiques): 31.4C
Navarrenx (Pyrénées-Atlantiques): 31.2C
Dax (Landes): 30.8C
Capbreton (Landes): 30.6C
The high temperatures in France, particularly in the west, are a result of “a southeasterly anticyclonic flow over the country, leading to very high temperatures along the western coast,” Météo France said. This weather pattern would usually lead to a heatwave if it happened in the peak summer months.
“The atmosphere isn’t warm enough yet and the sea temperature isn’t either, but if this situation were to occur in the middle of July or August, we’d be seeing temperatures of 35 to 40 degrees almost everywhere,” said Sébastien Decaux of Météo Bretagne, to France Bleu.
Temperatures in Brittany were still peaking yesterday (April 8), with up to 26C forecast for Quimper, Rennes, Redon, Vannes, and Nantes.
These warmer episodes are linked to climate change, said meteorologist Guillaume Séchet to France Bleu. He said that hot spells in April have always existed, but that they are now becoming the norm rather than one-off events.
“With temperatures 2 degrees higher [on average] than 50 years ago, under the same weather conditions, we easily break records,” he said.
This means that warmer-than-average temperature peaks will likely be expected throughout the spring and into summer.
Temperatures set to drop 10C in 24 hours
From Thursday April 9, the weather will change significantly and temperatures will drop by around 10C in less than 24 hours, due to a colder current coming from Ireland.
Temperatures are expected to return to more seasonal levels by Friday, with nationwide averages at around 13-15C.