France experienced its hottest late-summer day on record this week, surpassing the previous records amid a receding heatwave, according to weather authorities on Friday,
August 25. The average nationwide temperature over a 24-hour period reached 27.8°C (82°F) on Thursday, August 24, as announced by the weather service Météo France. This marks the most intense heat ever recorded after August 15 since data collection began in 1947.
This new record has now been broken for four consecutive days, according to Météo France. The previous record had been set just on Tuesday as a 'heat dome' gripped much of the country, impacting the southern half and Mediterranean coast particularly.
However, temperatures were already moderating on Friday, transitioning from high temperatures to summer storms in various parts of France. None of the 96 mainland France and Corsica departments were under the maximum red alert for heat at the week's end, in contrast to the 17 on Thursday. Nevertheless, temperatures of up to 39°C were still anticipated in the south." Photo by -Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada, Wikimedia commons.