Unheard of at this time of year. The day of Saturday April 6, marked by several temperature records at the local level, was also the hottest ever observed in France before April 15, notes on the X network the Infoclimat association, specializing in weather records. The thermometer panicked in the South-West in particular, sometimes peaking at 33°C. A new record after a month of March which had already marked the 26th month in a row above temperature standards in the country.
According to the association's records, the national thermal indicator reached 17.5°C, a record at the start of April. This indicator corresponds to the average of daily measurements of average temperature from all stations distributed across metropolitan France.
This April 6, 2024 is the hottest day observed in France before April 15 with 33°C in the southwest of France.
It follows 26 months in a row above standards in France. pic.twitter.com/Kjxpaj4d81
— Asso Infoclimat (@infoclimat) April 6, 2024
The Keraunos observatory, a consultancy specializing in monitoring storm risk, even highlights a “remarkable” reading of 17.6°C this Saturday, recalling that this value had never been reached until then in France before mid-April.
The national thermal indicator reached a remarkable 17.6°C this Saturday, the absolute record level for the period.
Such a value had never been recorded by @meteofrance before mid-April (former record 17.0°C on April 15, 2015).
Graph @infoclimat pic.twitter.com/LrFkYhquob
— Keraunos (@KeraunosObs) April 6, 2024
For good reason, Saturday was marked by a series of monthly records, especially in the South, figures that are particularly worrying this early in the month.
Maximum…and minimum heat records
In the Pyrénées-Atlantiques in particular, the mercury reached peaks, with 33.9°C recorded in Navarrenx for example. Several other records for the month of April were recorded in the same department, such as 32.7°C in Orthez or 32°C in Pau, but also elsewhere, with for example 30.5°C in Tarbes, in Hautes -Pyrenees.
Across the country, more than 50 monthly heat records were broken, even though previous records were “generally established at the very end of the month”, insists the Météo Ciel site, a site specializing in weather records. . The threshold of 25°C, which characterizes a “hot day” for climatologists, is usually reached for the first time in the season “between April 20 and May 10” in the northern half, according to Météo France. And the 30°C mark, a symbol of “strong heat”, is generally crossed “between mid-May and the end of June” throughout the metropolis.
Local heat exceptional this April 6, 2024 🌡️
Up to 33.9°C in Navarrenx (64)
➕50 monthly #heat records broken today (old records generally established at the very end of the month)
33.6°C in Lagor (64) (old 31.9°)
32°C in Pau (64) (30.8°)
30.5°C in Tarbes (65) (30.1°) pic.twitter.com/H5PqyQbJkS
— Meteociel (@meteociel) April 6, 2024
The minimum temperatures were also particularly high, with a national monthly record being broken here too: the thermometer showed a low of 22.5°C in Biarritz, the highest minimum temperature for the month of April ever recorded. The previous national record dates back to April 28, 2021, with 22.2°C recorded in Marignana in Corsica, Météo France forecaster Étienne Kapikian reported on the X network.
🥵April 6, 2024 exceptional #France
In addition to observing one of the highest Tmax ever reliably measured in April with 🌡️33.9°C in Navarrenx, the *minimum* temperature of 🌡️22.5°C in Biarritz beats the national monthly record of high Tmin (22.2 Marignana/Corsica, 4-28-2012) https://t.co/PIHnirwd0r pic.twitter.com/d3r7CYRRDX
— Etienne Kapikian (@EKMeteo) April 7, 2024
“This value is 14°C above normal and represents a real climatological anomaly for April,” also notes the Keraunos observatory, noting that this reading also beats “the May and June minimum records” in Biarritz.
Early heat episodes have increased in recent decades as a result of climate change: they are more and more frequent early in the year, from the beginning of spring, but also continue later and later into autumn. The intensity of these heat peaks is also increased.
Also read With climate change, almost 30 times more hot records than cold last year
Saturday's episode was, however, relatively brief in the territory, with a marked drop in temperatures this Sunday, with sometimes abrupt drops like in Biarritz, where the thermometer now shows 15°C this afternoon. Across the country, the mercury rarely exceeds 25°C, except for a few peaks of 26°C on average in the Center-East and South-East.