In certain cities in France, the temperature did not fall below 20°C between Wednesday January 26 and Thursday January 27. The symptom of a “tropical night” which should occur again in the southern part of the country.
Stifling temperatures. Some cities in France experienced their first “tropical nights” this week, meaning that the mercury did not fall below the 20°C threshold between sunset and sunrise.
In Paris, during the night from Wednesday to Thursday June 27, the Météo-France station located in Parc Montsouris (14th arrondissement) recorded a minimum of 20°C at 6 a.m. “That means it was 3 degrees warmer in the streets of the capital,” François Jobard, forecaster at Météo-France, told BFMTV.com.
The sensors installed by the Infoclimat association in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district and near the Porte de Vincennes show that the thermometer has not dropped below 23°C.
Drop in temperatures in the north
Other cities experienced similar weather conditions last night, particularly in Aquitaine. In Bordeaux and Agen, the minimums recorded last night by Météo-France stations were 21.6 and 20.8°C respectively.
The night from Thursday to Friday should be more pleasant in the northwest of France and the Paris region, where night-time and daytime temperatures will drop in the coming days.
On the other hand, “in the south-eastern two-thirds of the country, we will still have temperatures close to or above 20°C tonight”, warns François Jobard. Météo-France therefore forecasts a minimum nighttime temperature of 21°C in Lyon and 20°C in Marseille.
High humidity
These “tropical nights” – an informal term deemed “a little abusive” by François Jobard – are favored by a mass of warm and humid air. “The humidity currently reaches 40 to 60% depending on the region, which explains this feeling of heaviness and humidity in the air,” explains the forecaster. Conversely, “when the air is dry, temperatures drop more easily at night,” continues the specialist.
“Tropical nights” occur more in large urban centers, where the phenomenon of “heat islands” prevents the temperature from dropping at night.
Such nighttime temperatures are not exceptional but “their number tends to increase with global warming”, concludes François Jobard.
