South-west France swelters in ‘staggering’ 26.9C November night heat

Towns in south-west France roasted in “completely extreme” heat in the early hours of Tuesday, with overnight temperatures hitting 26.9C (80.42F).

“It’s very exceptional temperatures – even for the summer, let alone late November,” said Matthieu Sorel, a climatologist at Météo France.

Climate scientists across the country described the night-time heat as “staggering” and “phenomenal” for reaching such highs so late in the year. Météo France could not confirm if it was the highest temperature recorded on a November night because its hourly data only stretched back to about 1990, said Sorel. “But still, it’s huge,” he added.

Violently hot nights are felt on the French side of the Pyrenees when warm air from north Africa and the Mediterranean comes down the mountains and compresses, heating up even more. The natural phenomenon, known as the Föhn effect, adds to the impact of fossil fuel pollution, which has trapped sunlight and heated the planet 1.3C since preindustrial times.

In Europe, which has warmed about twice as fast as the global average, the shift has melted glaciers and dried out reservoirs. It has forced people to suffer through deadly heatwaves that reach catastrophic highs in the day and provide little respite at night.

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