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WEATHER

France heatwave sets another late-summer temperature record

France this week recorded its hottest late-summer day ever, breaching the record yet again in the now-ebbing heatwave, weather authorities said on Friday.

Published: 25 August 2023 17:16 CEST
France heatwave sets another late-summer temperature record
Burnt sunflowers in a field during a heatwave in southeastern France during August 2023 (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP)

The nationwide average temperature over 24 hours hit 27.8C on Thursday August 24, Meteo France announced, the most intense heat ever measured after August 15 in records going back to 1947.

That record had been breached four days in a row, Meteo France added.

Late-summer records began toppling on Monday as a “heat dome” bore down on much of the country, hitting the southern half and Mediterranean coast especially hard.

READ MORE: MAP: Which are the hottest towns in France?

But conditions were already easing on Friday, with high temperatures giving way to summer storms across parts of France.

None of the 96 departments in mainland France and Corsica were on the maximum red alert level for heat at the end of the week, compared with 17 on Thursday.

Temperatures of up to 39C were nevertheless expected in the south.

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WEATHER

‘River of mud’ prompts evacuations in northern France

A "river of mud" triggered by a sudden storm flooded dozens of houses in northern France, prompting evacuations, authorities said on Wednesday.

Published: 22 May 2024 14:30 CEST
'River of mud' prompts evacuations in northern France

The 20 minute “deluge” hit villages in the east of the Somme département, not far from the border with Belgium, late on Tuesday, local government chief Stephane Haussoulier told AFP.

The storm triggered large mudslides in some places and set loose a “river of mud” in the worst-hit village of Sailly-Laurette, he added.

Sixteen vehicles were swept away at Sailly-Laurette, which is on the banks of the River Somme. Eleven homes were flooded, some roads destroyed and 24 people evacuated, Haussoulier said.

Locals were out Wednesday clearing a thick layer of mud from streets and gardens, an AFP journalist saw.

At least 10 more villages in the eastern Somme were affected by mudslides.

Videos posted to social media showed flows of mud oozing through the streets of several municipalities.

In some places, it completely covered the wheels of cars struggling to make headway.

The flooding “caused material damage to around 100 homes”, the Somme departement’s préfecture said in a statement.

It added that firefighters had responded to 83 calls.

Earlier this month, a 57-year-old woman was killed in a mudslide in Courmelles, around 100 kilometres south of Sailly-Laurette.

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