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WEATHER

‘Hotter than July’: France set for record-breaking temperatures this weekend

Record-breaking temperatures - those considered above average for summer - are expected across France for the first weekend of October.

Published: 28 September 2023 17:08 CEST
Updated: 29 September 2023 17:07 CEST
'Hotter than July': France set for record-breaking temperatures this weekend
Two people protect themselves from the sun with umbrellas as they face heat weather in Paris. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)

Forecasters expect France to face temperatures well above seasonal norms for the first weekend of October.

Over the weekend, the north of the country is predicted to remain between 20C to 25C, while southern France will see average temperatures between 25C and 30C.

French weather forecaster La Chaîne Météo has warned that “in many towns and cities, maximum temperatures will be higher than those seen in July and August.”

READ MORE: September 2023 to be France’s hottest September ever

Certain parts of the country, namely around Toulouse and the south west, localised temperatures could reach up to 33C. North-eastern France is also expected to see high temperatures this weekend, with Strasbourg forecast to reach up to 30C.

On Saturday, apart from some clouds and possible stormy weather in northern France along the Channel coastline, much of the country is expected to have a sunny day with warm weather. 

As for Sunday – the first day of October – forecasters expect to see more temperature records broken as a ‘heat dome’ moves across France.

Weather forecaster Météo Express predicted that the heat will stick around until at least Monday, particularly in the southern half of the country.

As for water temperatures, those are also forecast to remain high. Along the Channel, la Chaîne Météo expects the mercury to be between 15C and 18C. As for the Atlantic coast, water temperatures may be between 17C and 21C, and the Mediterranean will likely be even warmer with expected averages of 22C to 23C. 

Meteorologist Regis Crepet with la Chaîne Météo noted alongside the site’s weekend predictions that “the month of September is already exceptional. According to our forecasts, it will be the hottest month on record in France since records began in 1900.”

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HEALTH

Storms prompt asthma and pollen warnings in France

Asthmatics and anyone with pollen allergies have been warned to be on the alert in the coming days, as a wave of thunderstorms are forecast to hit large areas in south, central and eastern France creating a 'pollen storm'.

Published: 7 June 2024 11:35 CEST
Storms prompt asthma and pollen warnings in France

Storms began to spread across parts of France on Thursday and are set to be a key feature on the forecasts through to Sunday, with experts warning that they could trigger ‘storm-induced’ asthma attacks.

The combination of electrical storms and high pollen concentrations in the southern half of the country is set to increase the risk of respiratory problems from Friday, France’s Réseau National de Surveillance Aérobiologique (RNSA) warned. 

This phenomenon causes pollen grains to break up into fine particles, which spread rapidly and penetrate more deeply into the respiratory system. People allergic to pollen and asthma sufferers are among those most at risk.

On Friday, some 23 départements were under yellow alert for thunderstorms, with a southern belt stretching from the Landes, in the south-west to the Alps in the south-east. This figure is set to fall to 11 on Saturday, mainly in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and southern Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

Yellow alerts for thunderstorms in southern France increase the risk of pollen allergies. Alerts in place on Friday, June 7. Map: MeteoFrance

“These weather conditions, combined with the high concentrations of grass pollen currently observed and forecast for this week … considerably increase the risk of storm-induced asthma,” the RNSA said in a press release. 

Pollen counts are extremely high over a large band of France, from the Atlantic coast to Alsace and the entire south-western quarter, it said.

During the first half-hour of a thunderstorm, patients suffering from pollen allergies may inhale a high concentration of the allergenic material that is dispersed into the atmosphere, which in turn can induce asthmatic reactions, often severe

Experts don’t fully understand why these events trigger breathing problems. But air flow within a thunderstorm system is thought to be important. 

Thunderstorms form when warm wetter air on the earth’s surface is beneath much cooler air higher in the atmosphere. The warm air rises quickly (known as up-draft) which causes the cool air to flow down towards the ground (known as down-draft). As the warm air rises, it cools and the moisture condenses into clouds and water molecules.

As a result pollen concentration “increases rapidly close to the ground with the strong downward winds that carry grass pollen from the upper air layers to the air layers close to the ground,” the RNSA said. 

Pollen then becomes waterlogged and bursts open under the combined effect of high air humidity, gusts of wind and variations in the electric field in the atmosphere. “The result is fine allergenic particles that can penetrate even deeper into the lungs”.

Thunderstorm asthma manifests itself as breathing difficulties comparable to an asthma attack, and occurs mainly – but not exclusively – in people allergic to grass pollen and asthmatics in general, but also in children and young adults. 

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