France recorded between Sunday and Monday its coldest night since 1947 for the month of April: the frost "hit hard" in many regions where fruit trees are grown, without us being able to draw up a balance sheet yet.
In Chablis (89), as in other French vineyards, winegrowers have struggled to preserve their future harvest.
"Since 2016, this is the third big frost and we are starting to seriously ask ourselves questions about the future of our profession", laments Thomas Ventoura, winegrower in Yonne (89).
Braziers, candles, water sprinkling, wind turbines: in the fields, the vigil of arms has lasted since Friday and the last night was particularly trying.
Everyone having in mind the heavy losses linked to the spring frost of 2021, a phenomenon set to recur in the context of climate change.
Monday morning, Météo France announced that the lowest temperatures for the month of April since 1947 in the country had been recorded during the night, with records broken, in particular in Mourmelon (Marne, -9.3 degrees) .
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By mid-morning, the temperatures were again positive "everywhere" and the cold spell is about to end, said Patrick Galois, forecaster at Météo France.
"It's very serious, many arborists are affected," said Christiane Lambert, president of the majority agricultural union FNSEA.
But “it is still too early to draw a quantified assessment of the consequences of the freeze.
The damage is only visible after a few days”, underlines the Ministry of Agriculture.
