After scorching temperatures sometimes reaching 40°C, Météo France announced on Monday, September 2 that the summer of 2024 would be the third consecutive hottest summer nationwide.
The summer of 2024 in France was marked by temperatures significantly above seasonal norms, marking the third consecutive summer in this situation, according to the seasonal report published this Monday, September 2 by Météo-France.
“With a June in line with normal, a slightly warmer July (+0.6°C) and a significantly warmer August (+1.5°C), the summer of 2024 shows a warm anomaly of +0.7°C compared to the 1991-2020 normal,” indicates the public establishment.
“This is the third consecutive summer above seasonal norms,” underlines Météo-France.
Two heat waves
Summer in the meteorological sense covers the three full months of June, July and August – unlike the calendar seasons which begin with the equinoxes or solstices.
During this summer season, France experienced two heat waves on a national scale: the first, brief but intense, affected a large southern half of the country between July 29 and August 2. The second, from August 6 to 13, affected a large part of France, with the exception of the North-West.
This is not surprising: every heat wave in the world is now stronger and more likely because of human-caused climate change, particularly with the massive use of fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil), according to scientists.
“Before 1989, we observed an average of one heat wave every 5 years in our country. Since 2000, they have returned almost every year,” recalls Météo-France.
Temperatures were mixed across the country, with very hot temperatures in a large south-eastern quarter of the country, with +1°C to +1.5°C above normal. Conversely, “a feeling of relative coolness dominated in Brittany, Normandy and the Pays-de-la-Loire”.
Concerning rainfall, the summer of 2024 was in line with normal “although masking significant regional disparities”. The deficit notably reached 30% to 40% in northern Aquitaine, Normandy, the Mediterranean region and western Corsica, the bulletin details.
