Record temperatures at day and night have been smashed in recent days, with Menton experiencing a sweltering 43.2°C on Wednesday. When will it stop?
Intense late summer weather conditions have enveloped France. 62 departments are on high alert – 37 for heat and another 25 for storms – and daytime and nighttime temperature records have been broken across the country.
Menton saw highs reaching 43.2°C on Wednesday 23rd August, the same as Carcassonne in the southwest while Toulouse came close with a rather unpleasant 42.4°C.
A new national record for minimum nighttime temperatures in mainland France was hit overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday with 30.4°C.
It won’t be until the night between Thursday 24th and Friday 25th August that temperatures are expected to drop, although only by a degree or two overnight.
During Thursday, temperatures are likely to be in the 32°C to 36°C range near the coast and 36°C to 38°C inland.
The heatwave is being blamed on a climatic episode that originated in North Africa and has spread to cover the Mediterranean basin, with southern France, Spain and Italy bearing the brunt. However, the more extreme weather alerts currently in place cover the interior of France.
This hot air has been locked in place in what is called a “heat dome”, which is slowly loosening its grip on our region, but isn’t expected to end until the weekend.
Storms are predicted for the coming weekend, predominately on higher ground, but rainfall should quench the rest of the south of France by Sunday, continuing potentially into next week, according to Météo France. With the rains will come lower temperatures closer to or matching seasonal norms.
Read more:
Make sure you’re never left out of the conversation.
Sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Photo source: Ethan Robertson, Unsplash