France reports 2nd hottest summer of century

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - France's weather bureau has termed this year's summer season as the second hottest in the last century.

The average temperature in the months of June, July and August was 22.67 degrees Celsius (72.8 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to an average of 23.1 C in the summer of 2003, according to the analysis released by Meteo France on Tuesday.

"Summer 2022 is the second hottest summer observed in France since at least 1900 with a difference of +2.3 C compared to the 1991-2020 average. The summer of 2003 remains the hottest ever measured in France with a temperature anomaly of +2.7°C,” the report said.

There were 33 days of extreme heat in the summer spanning three heat waves: from June 15 to 19, from July 12 to 25, and from July 31 to Aug. 13. In comparison, there were 22 days of heat waves in 2003.

In addition, several records were broken this summer. For starters, temperatures soared to 40 C as early as June 16, a phenomenon not witnessed before in the season in mainland France.

In July, several towns in the southwest region experienced peak temperatures close to 42 C to 43 C.

Maximum temperatures in the Paris also crossed the 40 C mark for only the third time in 75 years. The maximum temperatures reached 40 C for the first time in northern Finistere, a department in Brittany region.

The warm weather trend is likely to continue for the next three months until October, according to another report by Meteo France released on Aug. 27.

The unusually hot and dry summer this year was worsened by several outbreaks of natural and manmade wildfires leaving thousands of hectares of grown forestland barren. Low and infrequent rainfalls during summer causing lower precipitation also contributed to extreme drought conditions.

Almost all regions of the mainland territory are impacted by the drought with water levels plunging to lower levels. The water in the Loire River, known to be the longest in France, dipped so low that the river bed could be crossed on foot. Several towns and villages had to resort to ordering water tankers, lifting water from the lakes, or desalinating water.

The drought has also increased the woes of the agricultural sector which is struggling with disturbing episodes of frost, hailstorms and heat waves. Farmers are concerned the adverse climate change, coupled with restrictions on water usage for agricultural purposes, less rain and lack of groundwater replenishment, will drastically affect the production of milk, cheese, wine, and olives, which France is renowned for.