Cold and heat waves in France

Cold waves

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Generally, France is not particularly exposed to cold waves, because the prevailing currents come from the ocean. North winds can be cold, but since they have to pass through the ocean, they are not freezing. The real cold comes from the east or north-east, from Siberia or the Russian Arctic. The most exposed areas of France are the inland areas, at a certain distance from the sea, and especially the eastern ones. In recent decades, cold waves are becoming rarer and shorter due to global warming.
After those of 1929, 1942, 1947, 1956, 1963 and 1971, the last great cold wave was that of January 1985, when the temperature dropped to -25 °C (-13 °F) in Chamonix, to -24 °C (-11 °F) in Aurillac, to -23 °C (-9.5 °F) in Clermont-Ferrand and in Saint-Étienne, to -21 °C (-6 °F) in Dijon, to -20.5 °C (-5 °F) in Annecy, to -20 °C (-4 °F) in Lyon, to -19 °C (-2 °F) in Mulhouse, to -18.5 °C (-1.5 °F) in Toulouse, to -18 °C (-0.5 °F) in Paris and Grenoble, to -17.5 °C (0.5 °F) in Strasbourg, to -16 °C (3 °F) in Bordeaux and Aix-en-Provence, to -13 °C (8.5 °F) in Dunkirk, Nantes and Avignon, to -12.5 °C (9.5 °F) Marseille, to -12 °C (10.5 °F) in Nîmes, to -11.5 °C (11.5 °F) in La Rochelle, to -7 °C (19.5 °F) in Nice and Perpignan, to -6.5 °C (20.5 °F) in Brest and Toulon, to -5 °C (23 °F) in Ajaccio, and to -3 °C (26.5 °F) in Ouessant.
Subsequently, other cold spells occurred in February 1986, January 1987, February 1991, December 1996, December 2009, and February 2012.

Heat waves

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In the past, France was even more rarely affected by heat waves, given the fairly high latitude and the prevalence of ocean currents. However, in recent decades, due to global warming, heatwaves of African origin have become more than a possibility, as very hot periods, usually of short duration, now occur almost every summer. Hot air masses come from the Algerian desert after passing over Spain, and therefore without having lost much of their initial characteristics.
The inland areas of the center-north, including Paris, have been found vulnerable to these heat episodes. Even more affected are the southern areas at a certain distance from the sea (see Toulouse, Nîmes, Avignon). The least affected areas are the ocean coasts, in particular the northern one, overlooking the English Channel, but the Côte d'Azur is also generally not much affected.
In August 2003, there was a historical heat wave that was also very long, so much so that the temperature remained for about ten days in a row around 37/40 °C (99/104 °F) in Paris and in many inland cities. On August 12, 2003, the temperature reached 44 °C (111 °F) in Conqueyrac, 35 km (21 mi) north-west of Nîmes. Instead, it reached "only" 35 °C (95 °F) in Brest and Nice, and 36 °C (97 °F) in Le Havre.
Thereafter, there were several heat waves, especially starting from the 2010s, albeit of shorter duration.
On 28 June 2019, in Gallargues-le-Montueux, a town located about 20 km (12 mi) south-west of Nîmes, the absolute heat record in France was set, with 45,9 °C (114.6 °F).
Later, at the end of July 2019, several heat records were broken, many of which went back to 2003. For example, the temperature reached 42 °C (107.5 °F) in Paris, 41.5 °C (106.5 °F) in Lille, 41 °C (106 °F) in Dunkirk, Le Mans and Bordeaux, and 40 °C (104 °F) in Nancy.
In 2022, there were several heat waves from June to August, and in the most intense, in July, records were broken especially in the west: 42 °C (107.5 °F) in Nantes, 41.7 °C (107.1 °F) in La Rochelle, 40.5 °C (105 °F) in Rennes, 40 °C (104 °F) in Saint-Malo, Caen and Calais, 39.3 °C (102.7 °F) in Brest and 38 °C (100.5 °F) in Limoges.