On Saturday, the thermometer reached the record for the hottest day in September in France for the second time this week, with the national thermal indicator standing at 25.1°C, Météo-France confirmed on Sunday. More than a dozen monthly records were broken on Saturday from Brittany (Saint-Brieuc, 31.5°C) to the Paris region (Trappes, 34.6°C, Le Bourget, 35.3°C) passing via Normandy (Rouen, 33.2°C) without forgetting Nantes (35.4°C).
Last Monday, at 25.1°C, the indicator which averages daily measurements of average air temperature in 30 meteorological stations evenly distributed in metropolitan France had beaten the previous record of 24.7°C for a month of September, recorded on September 4, 1949.
The unprecedented nature of this heat wave
These Saturday records, which add to dozens of others beaten since Monday across mainland France, illustrate the unprecedented nature of this heat wave, in line with the warnings of climatologists concerning the extension of heat waves to the margins of the ‘summer. Paris spent a week with peaks over 30°C every day, several times above 35°C. “The duration of this episode of strong heat, combined with its intensity and lateness, is remarkable across the country”, noted Météo-France at the start of the week.
This Sunday, temperatures will remain scorching in Ile-de-France and Center-Val-de-Loire, around 35-36 degrees, in a total of 14 departments which remain on orange alert for the heatwave. But temperatures will be down 2 to 3 degrees in the west.
From Monday, associated with a stormy deterioration, a clear cooling by the West will reach the center of the country, marking the end of this heat wave episode, extraordinary for a month of September in France, indicates Météo-France.