The summer of 2024 shows an anomaly of +0.7°C compared to the period 1991-2020, which makes it the third consecutive above normal, despite a feeling of coolness in the North, according to a report from Météo France published this Monday, September 2.
Summer heat follows one another and is similar. Intense, abnormal. In France, despite an impression of coolness in the North, the summer of 2024 was marked by temperatures well above seasonal norms. This is 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 July slightly warmer (+0.6°C) and a August significantly warmer (+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.
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 season, France experienced two nationwide heat waves: the first, brief but intense, affected a large southern half of the country between 29 July and 2 August. The second, from 6 to 13 August, affected a large part of the country, 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 on average a heat wave every five years in our country. Since 2000, they have returned almost every year,” recalls Météo France. Temperatures were mixed across the country. Values were very high over a large south-eastern quarter, with +1°C to +1.5°C above normal. During the month of August, the heat was particularly marked in Corsica and Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, with temperatures exceeding seasonal values by more than 2°C. Throughout the summer, the heat persisted near the Mediterranean, day and night. The surface temperature of the water between Corsica and the continent even locally exceeded 30°C on August 5.
70% of France experienced a tropical night
The 40°C threshold was locally crossed in the Mediterranean regions as well as in Gironde and Landes. Nearly 70% of France experienced at least one so-called “tropical” night during the summer, with a nighttime temperature above 20°C. “This is a proportion of the territory that is broadly similar to the summers of the 21st century, but much higher than those of the 20th,” indicates Météo France. Unlike this furnace in the South, “a feeling of relative freshness dominated in Brittany, Normandy and the Pays-de-la-Loire.”
Concerning the rains, after a very rainy spring in almost all regions, the rainfall during the summer of 2024 was “very contrasting, with certain regions particularly affected by stormy episodes”, summarizes Météo France. The cumulative precipitation is thus in excess from Pays-de-la-Loire and Centre-Val de-Loire to Ile-de-France, as well as from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté to Grand Est. In Melun (Seine-et-Marne) or Saint-Dizier (Haute-Marne), the excess is close to 30%, with more than 25 days of rain over the season. The southern regions, as well as Normandy and Hauts-de-France, on the other hand, have generally experienced a season with little rain.
