Drought worsens in southern France, according to Météo France

In Occitania, it is, for example, “the driest situation encountered at this time of year since 1958”, announced Météo France on Friday.

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It’s time to worry. While summer is playing extra time with a record month of October in terms of heat in France, the historic drought that is hitting the country continues to rage and is even getting worse in the South, Météo France announced on Friday, October 28.

“October 2022 should be the hottest month of October in France since the start of measurements in 1945, with an average temperature which should be close to, or even higher than, 17°C (3 to 4°C above the normal) over the whole month”the public establishment confirmed on Friday.

In addition to an abnormally high thermometer for the season, precipitation “have been less frequent than usual over most of the territory, on average to date with a deficit of more than 30%”with a deficit that exceeds 70% on an axis going from the Landes and Basque coasts to the PACA region and Corsica, specifies Météo France in a press release.

Result: the summer drought persists in places and even worsens in several regions. Thus, the soils “are slightly drier than normal in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Normandy”, whereas in New Aquitaine and Occitanie, the drying up corresponds “to a state usually observed in midsummer”. “In Occitania, this is the driest situation encountered at this time of year since 1958”is underlined.

However, soils find “a normal state for this time of year in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Bretagne, Centre-Val-de-Loire, Grand-Est and Île-de-France regions”. Thursday, the Ministry of Ecological Transition reported 78 departments still experiencing restrictions on the use of water.


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