Occasional Thoughts on Climate Change

[bluewave]

Really extreme to see parts of France go +10° F for the first half of summer using the warmest 1991-2020 climate normals.

With a +4.2°C deviation from the already warmed 1991-2020 baseline, the tally for the first half of the meteorological summer is eye-opening. The 2026 anomaly forces us to scale up the graph, to the point of literally compressing 2003 (+2.8°C "only"). ➡️From the Center-West to Burgundy, we're seeing unprecedented values of +5 to +6°C. ➡️The rainfall deficit is just as stark, ranging from -30% in the north to -100% in the Var. The Center-West, where the vegetation is already completely scorched, hovers between -60 and -80%. ➡️Over the past month, nearly every day has been spent above the heatwave threshold, with only a 4-day pause at the start of July. ➡️The third heatwave should wrap up this weekend. But in the southwest, temperatures will remain heatwave-level (34 to 38°C) for an indeterminate period. Given the hot air mass south of Europe, we're far from safe from a 4th heatwave later in the summer.

 

France is dry and scorched. After already surpassing 2003 with the hottest day ever observed in France, the year 2026 now exceeds the droughts of 1976 and 2022. The soil moisture index reaches its lowest level ever measured for a July 9. And the situation continues to worsen. A new hairdryer effect is expected in the central west starting Sunday. From the sky, France appears literally burned: parched meadows, defoliation of forests, summer crops in great distress (corn, soy, sunflower), and early winter harvests contribute to this color. As if that weren't enough, we have just broken the NATIONAL RECORD for the hottest night ever observed with 30.6°C in Céret in the Pyrénées-Orientales at the "coolest" point of the morning. Photo from the NAOO-21 / VIIRS satellite (true color).